Speaker 1: Hey, guys, welcome to another episode of Eating While Broke.
Speaker 1: I'm your host, Colleen Waitt, and today we have very
Speaker 1: special guests. Entrepreneur in the building. Yes, and I'm very
Speaker 1: excited about saying mompreneur because if your mom out there,
Speaker 1: you know what's already that's already a full time self
Speaker 1: employed type job. But to add more merit to the motherhood,
Speaker 1: we added owner of Hype Hair magazine. Yes, Hype Hair Magazine,
Speaker 1: and that's been around for over thirty years.
Speaker 2: Thirty we're celebrating our thirty fifth year anniversary. Thirty we're
Speaker 2: going into our thirty fifth year anniversary right now.
Speaker 1: And in publishing, that's like monumental because you had to
Speaker 1: survive the facebooks, the mindspaces, the Twitter age. Print is out.
Speaker 1: We don't advertise in print now. We only sell. We
Speaker 1: buy digital, I mean tweets and all my world. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's it's an I wasn't posting for ten years. Let
Speaker 1: me tell you something that one wave where digital came
Speaker 1: in and print was out, you had to change a
Speaker 1: whole strategy on sales absolutely, and then and distribution. And
Speaker 1: now to add more to that, you bought the Savoy,
Speaker 1: which is another which, by the way, if you think
Speaker 1: owning a magazine is tough, I would imagine a restaurant is.
Speaker 2: Much restaurant, nightclub. Yeah, it's a whole Yeah, it's a
Speaker 2: whole thing.
Speaker 1: I can only imagine that side. And then to add
Speaker 1: even more to that, you got the Girl cave La.
Speaker 2: The Girl cave La is my beauty supply store chain.
Speaker 2: We have franchises here in Los Angeles and in Texas, and.
Speaker 1: Oh we're in Texas. Let me tell you something. You
Speaker 1: are a definition. You're just on your own. It could
Speaker 1: be just entrepreneur. I'll take it, you know. I mean
Speaker 1: sometimes I hate when people separate it only because it's like, yo,
Speaker 1: on its own, You're good, you know, because then it's like,
Speaker 1: are you the top of the morepreneurs? Where do you fall?
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 1: Like, no, you you will be. She's a serial entrepreneur, entrepreneur.
Speaker 2: I'm I'm a mother. Yes, I'm a mom, and I'm
Speaker 2: just making it happen. Yes.
Speaker 1: So on the regular day we were talking about this.
Speaker 1: You don't look this stunning.
Speaker 2: Time never ever I came like this to see you.
Speaker 1: Okay, yeah, because you look great For all y'all listeners,
Speaker 1: they can't see her. She looks ten out of ten phenomenal.
Speaker 1: You would never think she was a mom because you
Speaker 1: know how else mom's look.
Speaker 2: You should have seen me yesterday at the same time,
Speaker 2: totally different person.
Speaker 1: I love that. I love that for you because I
Speaker 1: have this new face where I gained a lot of weight.
Speaker 1: So if it's not stretchy or loose, I don't want
Speaker 1: to wear it.
Speaker 2: But you look good.
Speaker 1: I'm wearing jeans for you. This is my this is
Speaker 1: me trying to look good for you. I put on
Speaker 1: makeup before you came. But it's an honor to meet you.
Speaker 1: I'm very excited. I was very excited when we got
Speaker 1: the interview with you.
Speaker 2: I was excited when I got the invitation. I'm happy
Speaker 2: to be here.
Speaker 1: Yes, girl, Yes. And then before we get into all
Speaker 1: the tea of a day in the life of a
Speaker 1: real serial entrepreneur that's struggling multiple businesses at the same time,
Speaker 1: why don't you tell me what you're gonna be cooking
Speaker 1: for lunch today?
Speaker 2: So my go to my go to meal is spaghetti.
Speaker 2: It's meatless spaghetti though, so it's quick. My daughter probably
Speaker 2: hates this. So a single mom for a long time
Speaker 2: and my daughter's twenty one now, and she says it
Speaker 2: all the time, like, I can't even stand spaghetti anymore
Speaker 2: because I feel like I ate it four times a week.
Speaker 2: But this was easy. A bell pepper, onion, some sauce.
Speaker 2: This is like less than ten.
Speaker 1: Dollars, yes, yes? And then now the bell pepper and onions.
Speaker 1: Was that something because you wanted to add extra like
Speaker 1: bite to it?
Speaker 2: Because I mean, I just felt like it was so
Speaker 2: basic just to have salt, mean, just to have sauce
Speaker 2: and pasta. So I was like, what can I do that?
Speaker 2: And when you go to the produce aisle, it's bell
Speaker 2: pepper and onion. That's something you can spice it up with. Yeh.
Speaker 2: If I'm feeling really fancy, I'll add mushroom.
Speaker 1: Yes, yes, oh mushroom. Now do you saw tea it?
Speaker 2: I sautea it first. Oh, God, sutea it first. And
Speaker 2: that's kind of like your replacement for meat. Yeah, you
Speaker 2: can kind of call it like spaghetti.
Speaker 1: I didn't like that. I never really cooked mushrooms, but
Speaker 1: I one day in my life I will venture off
Speaker 1: into mushroom land. I'm not there yet. My husband hates mushrooms, so.
Speaker 2: I'm there in a lot of ways.
Speaker 1: But go ahead, start our lunch through the pasta in
Speaker 1: the pad and take me back to what was going on,
Speaker 1: and you can start. You can start since this is
Speaker 1: your stable go to you can start as far back
Speaker 1: as you want, which is good for me because I
Speaker 1: want to be really inspired today.
Speaker 2: Okay, I'm trying to think the first time this became
Speaker 2: a thing in my life. I think it was when
Speaker 2: I became a single. I was a teenage single mom.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, I got pregnant with Kayla, my oldest daughter,
Speaker 2: when I was eighteen. I had it when I was nineteen.
Speaker 2: I was in college and I was just trying to
Speaker 2: figure it out, and I gotta get to work, get
Speaker 2: to school, get her to school, gets everything together.
Speaker 1: And you said your parents were strict, super strict. Sorry, guys,
Speaker 1: I talked before we got on camera.
Speaker 2: You know what, But I feel like that is the rebellion, right.
Speaker 2: So I grew up very sheltered, went to private Christian
Speaker 2: school my whole life, went to church every Sunday, and
Speaker 2: nothing's wrong with that. But I never got a taste
Speaker 2: of the outside world. So when I got a little
Speaker 2: taste of it, oh, I tasted it. I was outside
Speaker 2: was outside outside?
Speaker 1: What was that discussion like with your parents? Like, hey, guys,
Speaker 1: I'm in college and surprise, you know what.
Speaker 2: My mom is deceased now. But she was very intuitive.
Speaker 2: She knew the guy was dating and she was like,
Speaker 2: don't get pregnant. And I was like, why would I
Speaker 2: get pregnant? She was like, don't get pregnant. And I
Speaker 2: felt like she knew before I told her. Yeah, I
Speaker 2: didn't hide my pregnancy, but I knew something was different.
Speaker 2: And because I wasn't I didn't have a wear. I
Speaker 2: was a kid. I didn't know what that meant. My
Speaker 2: mom knew. She was a registered nurse. So when we
Speaker 2: would come home from school and the stomach churts, are
Speaker 2: you pregnant? No, I'm not pregnant, And one day I
Speaker 2: was just like, I think I'm pregnant. So yeah, it
Speaker 2: was a eacy. Yeah, she already had the foresight. I
Speaker 2: think had she been blindsided, it would have been worse.
Speaker 1: But she kind of had some intuition and was she
Speaker 1: so she was kind of supportive or.
Speaker 2: You know what I will say, they became supportive. Okay,
Speaker 2: I think they were disappointed. Obviously they were disappointed.
Speaker 1: And how did that make you feel like knowing that
Speaker 1: that was because that's that's got also.
Speaker 2: Like you know, I mean my parents invested a lot
Speaker 2: into me as a child. Like like I said, I
Speaker 2: went to private Christian school, I had a lot of
Speaker 2: access to a lot of things. I had a nuclear family,
Speaker 2: So some of the things that I did in early
Speaker 2: adulthood weren't really representative of how I felt like my
Speaker 2: parents raised me to be. But they never did not
Speaker 2: support me. They could have been upset with me or disappointed,
Speaker 2: but I never felt like I was on my Yeah.
Speaker 1: They never like turned their back on you. Yeah, like
Speaker 1: I was great.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I was a single parent and things were hard,
Speaker 2: but I never was like I was down but never
Speaker 2: out If that makes sense.
Speaker 1: Good, Yeah, well that's good.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's good.
Speaker 1: So what the father did he poof.
Speaker 2: Vanished pool Spanish? Poof Spanish? Where is he? Like? No
Speaker 2: poof Banish?
Speaker 1: Oh oh you no relationship right now?
Speaker 2: No relationship?
Speaker 1: You are a real, real real though you didn't even
Speaker 1: get to argue with the other parents.
Speaker 2: Like I think he was involved often on during the pregnancy,
Speaker 2: but I think when Kayla got here and it was
Speaker 2: a realization that, like we have this responsibility it was
Speaker 2: not something he was ready for, not at all all.
Speaker 1: I wasn't either, Yeah, no one's I went through a
Speaker 1: phase of being a single parent. Let me just tell
Speaker 1: you something. And people are like, I wasn't ready, Like
Speaker 1: do you.
Speaker 2: Think no one's ever ready to be a parent? You
Speaker 2: kind of just it's on the job training.
Speaker 1: It's on the job training and young and you're young.
Speaker 1: So what are you doing to support yourself during this time?
Speaker 1: And do you move in with your parents?
Speaker 2: Yes? So at this point, I'm living in a dorm
Speaker 2: with my best friend. I'm living my best life. And no,
Speaker 2: this is when I find out I'm pregnant, and so
Speaker 2: I have my baby shower. Well, actually I take that back.
Speaker 2: I have like a small baby shower. And then the
Speaker 2: reality of all the things that I need and I
Speaker 2: don't have kind of sets in. And so I asked
Speaker 2: my parents to come back home. Of course they immediately
Speaker 2: were like yes. But my mom made me pay rent
Speaker 2: and she made me have like a plan of action
Speaker 2: to get out. She would always tell me there cannot
Speaker 2: be two queens in this castle. So you're the queen
Speaker 2: now of your house. So you got to figure this out.
Speaker 2: And so there was support but there was a very
Speaker 2: big push to get me out. And when I oversaved
Speaker 2: my welcome, my mom put me out for sure.
Speaker 1: Oh damn.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you're saying that she never turned her back, but
Speaker 1: she had this.
Speaker 2: It was her, it was her rule.
Speaker 1: It was did you understand it at the time.
Speaker 2: I didn't understand it at the time. We fall you know,
Speaker 2: had a big falling out. I felt like she didn't
Speaker 2: have my back. But really what it was is that
Speaker 2: I made my bed. I had to lie in it.
Speaker 2: It was my responsibility, it was my daughter, was not
Speaker 2: her responsibility. And she saw me not doing the things
Speaker 2: that I needed to do to prepare for my life
Speaker 2: as a single parent, and she just said, you got
Speaker 2: to learn. So damn.
Speaker 1: But you want to know something, I know for a
Speaker 1: fact that this is why you are as strong and
Speaker 1: powerful as you are today.
Speaker 2: I say all the time that that those moments are
Speaker 2: the moments that like cultivate, like there's nothing that I
Speaker 2: feel like I can't do. You know what I mean,
Speaker 2: Like if you can be nineteen years old trying to
Speaker 2: figure out how you're going to pay rent and feed
Speaker 2: a kid, and you could do anything.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's when my homeboy told me once, me and
Speaker 1: my husband severay I became a single mom, and he
Speaker 1: told me, if I can survive this chapter, absolutely, he
Speaker 1: was like, you will be invincible. Do you know that?
Speaker 1: I feel even remember what we're talking about before, part
Speaker 1: of me feels like I've seen I've seen the worst.
Speaker 1: I feel like I've seen the worst. I'm just saying, like,
Speaker 1: if I survived that shit and things is cool.
Speaker 2: I'm just saying. I'm just saying, so I feel that experience.
Speaker 2: You know what that feels like, right, Like when you
Speaker 2: get through like the trenches, you're like, oh, there a
Speaker 2: walking apart.
Speaker 1: And I think it's a balance of Also, i'd imagine,
Speaker 1: and I want to talk about the emotional sign is
Speaker 1: like you're going through the motions of heartbreak and oh
Speaker 1: my god, what did I do? And also survival where
Speaker 1: you got to almost bench press or you know, shove
Speaker 1: your feelings yeah, and be like Okay, I'm gonna have
Speaker 1: to deal with you at a way later date and
Speaker 1: put on my survival skills.
Speaker 2: Yeah. I don't have time to be emotional. The rents,
Speaker 2: do the baby school, tuition, is do all the things, oh,
Speaker 2: the daycare. I gotta be at work, so I feel
Speaker 2: like I didn't even really feel it, you know what
Speaker 2: I'm saying, because I was just in survival mode. It
Speaker 2: took me years and years to kind of like understand,
Speaker 2: Like I'm not even gonna say trauma because that's so dramatic,
Speaker 2: but like the weight of it, yeah, like it's heavy.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you don't think there's a little bit of trauma
Speaker 1: in there?
Speaker 2: Is it trauma?
Speaker 1: I mean, you remarried, so maybe, but if you hadn't,
Speaker 1: you'd have to wonder if there was a little bit
Speaker 1: of trauma there.
Speaker 2: I actually remarried twice, so sorry, okay, okay, but yes,
Speaker 2: all of it. Yeah, but I don't know, girl.
Speaker 1: Okay, So I'm glad you're not laboring it labeling it
Speaker 1: as trauma. That's I'll attribute that to your strength.
Speaker 2: Okay, Yeah, but you're right, it is a little bit
Speaker 2: of trauma. I'm maybe never pictured it as that it is,
Speaker 2: to be honest with you, though, because it's something you
Speaker 2: do have to heal from.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, it's trauma. Yeah, because eventually you had
Speaker 1: to revisit.
Speaker 2: It, right for sure, and it comes up in the
Speaker 2: moments and the seasons that you're not expecting. Yeah, right,
Speaker 2: like even now, when I feel pressure, I'm like, oh
Speaker 2: my god, like I'm reminded of those times, even at
Speaker 2: forty one years old, and that was when I was eighteen.
Speaker 2: Ye so yeah, it's real. Dang, it's real.
Speaker 1: Okay. So how long were you at Mama's house before
Speaker 1: the queen had the little mini queen had lived.
Speaker 2: I know, my dad is probably gonna say it wasn't
Speaker 2: we let you know, dad, y'all put me out.
Speaker 1: It was as good though.
Speaker 2: Yeah, no, it's good. I tell them all the time.
Speaker 2: I had the best parents in the world because they
Speaker 2: taught me to have to be self sufficient.
Speaker 1: It was maybe about ye okay, Oh yeah, that's brutal.
Speaker 1: That's brutal, okay, but that okay. So you move out,
Speaker 1: you get like a little.
Speaker 2: Bent, a little like I'm like, I don't even want
Speaker 2: to call it a one bedroom. It might have been
Speaker 2: a studio. I don't even I remember looking at all
Speaker 2: areas of the house for one space. It was a
Speaker 2: little small space and Kaylyn and I made it work.
Speaker 2: I remember she painted like the walls pink, black and white.
Speaker 1: And she was one or two or something. No, no, no,
Speaker 1: whoa as you got as we.
Speaker 2: Got older, but yeah, that was like kind of like
Speaker 2: our hug. That was our place for a while until
Speaker 2: I figured it out.
Speaker 1: And what were you doing for work?
Speaker 2: Let's see, I was working at Burlington Coke Factory as
Speaker 2: a lost prevention agent. Yeah, yeah, what was I doing?
Speaker 2: I was working just like for a temp agencies. Like
Speaker 2: because I was in school too, so I was going.
Speaker 1: To You were still going to school too, jesus.
Speaker 2: So no, this is a good thing that my parents did.
Speaker 2: So they would not watch Kayla for me if I
Speaker 2: had to go out or hang out with friends, but
Speaker 2: if I had school or work, they always helped. So
Speaker 2: even if I was living on my own, So the
Speaker 2: routine was I would go to work at night. I'm sorry,
Speaker 2: we go to school at night, get off obviously, do
Speaker 2: my mom thing, wake up in the morning and take
Speaker 2: her to school and just start all over again and
Speaker 2: go to work. And I was kind of like my
Speaker 2: routine to help me with her in the evening.
Speaker 1: Well that's that's a blessing exactly. And let me tell
Speaker 1: you something, no disrespect to having children, shout outs. I
Speaker 1: love my child. But like if I had to choose
Speaker 1: between school and like an additional three hours with my
Speaker 1: kid every day, I'll choose school. Yeah, I'm glad I
Speaker 1: would take this guy.
Speaker 2: The moms understand what that mean, like you, it's inaction.
Speaker 1: I will gladly take school.
Speaker 2: Look at this, I'm about to burn over three hours.
Speaker 1: I don't think you could burn it overcook it, that's
Speaker 1: what Okay, okay, so already fascinated by this, this chapter
Speaker 1: of Brokeness, so super brokeness. So your daughter and was
Speaker 1: living off spaghetti.
Speaker 2: You were living off spaghetti. We were living off a
Speaker 2: poyo loco.
Speaker 1: Like, okay, in school? So you graduate school for what.
Speaker 2: I graduated with my degree in social work.
Speaker 1: Social work? Isn't that an industry that doesn't really pay.
Speaker 2: Not at all? But I just wanted to fix the world,
Speaker 2: I said. I wanted to tell pregnant and parenting teens.
Speaker 2: I wanted to I.
Speaker 1: Feel you, though, because I always tell myself, if I
Speaker 1: became rich, smart, like my whole life's work would be
Speaker 1: dedicated to single moms, like I would be like, yo,
Speaker 1: I'm totally we're gonna help you all out. And okay, okay,
Speaker 1: so you're don't burn itself.
Speaker 2: I don't.
Speaker 1: I got the fake insurance here. I try to y'all all,
Speaker 1: y'all successful people will be relying solely on your insurance.
Speaker 2: I think I got this. I've done it too many times. Yes, yes,
Speaker 2: oh that's up. Oh we we got it.
Speaker 1: You got it?
Speaker 2: I do.
Speaker 1: Okay. So at what point after this degree comes in,
Speaker 1: do you say, hmmm, I think I want to venture
Speaker 1: off into crazy, crazy entrepreneur lands.
Speaker 2: It was a long time, so the degree was life
Speaker 2: changing for me because I was able to go get
Speaker 2: a job where I had a regular paycheck benefits because
Speaker 2: I worked for La County DCFS. Okay, like eight years.
Speaker 1: Okay, do you get pensions and all that?
Speaker 2: All of that. I didn't stay long enough to get it.
Speaker 2: I think you have to stay like ten years to
Speaker 2: get vested. I left right before that point. But the
Speaker 2: benefits are amazing, health insurance, paid time off, vacation, all
Speaker 2: the stuff that you don't get at the kind of
Speaker 2: jobs I was working before. So that's kind of like
Speaker 2: when my life got easier. Okay, Yeah, I think Kayla
Speaker 2: would say the same thing.
Speaker 1: God and she and then were you vocal about what
Speaker 1: you guys were going through because it was the two
Speaker 1: of you?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I feel like maybe a little too vocal, right.
Speaker 2: She knew a lot of things she knew. You know
Speaker 2: that sometimes I didn't have it and sometimes but what
Speaker 2: I never tried to do was make her feel it
Speaker 2: too much, you know what I mean? Like I never
Speaker 2: had her excluded from anything at school, you know, the
Speaker 2: field trip or something like that. I always tried to
Speaker 2: send her with the best. Yeah, because I never her
Speaker 2: to feel what I was going through. Yeah. Yeah. So
Speaker 2: even now, like we've had conversations she's twenty one now,
Speaker 2: thank god, and she'll say, you know, I remember having
Speaker 2: this and that and I don't know how you did it.
Speaker 2: And I'm like, I don't know how I did it either,
Speaker 2: but we made it happen. So I made it happen.
Speaker 1: But now, are you guys because you went through that,
Speaker 1: are you guys like more like best friends ish parents type?
Speaker 2: I feel like even though her mom, we more have
Speaker 2: like a big sister little sister type relationship. She still
Speaker 2: very much relies on me and listens to me. But
Speaker 2: we're just so close.
Speaker 1: Okay. I love that close. I love that so close,
Speaker 1: so close. Okay, So okay, you're doing the social work,
Speaker 1: you're working for eight years.
Speaker 2: You say, mm hmm dcfs yep.
Speaker 1: Where does the bugs start to pivot.
Speaker 2: So I got married, Okay, Yeah, I got married and
Speaker 2: my ex husband was a business owner and a physician, okay,
Speaker 2: and he kind of put in my ear so you
Speaker 2: know you. I helped him with his business while I
Speaker 2: was working at DCFS, and he said, you you can,
Speaker 2: you figure the things out, like you could do this. So,
Speaker 2: even though we're not on good terms now, in those moments,
Speaker 2: he did inspire me to let me know that if
Speaker 2: he could, you know, have a full time job as
Speaker 2: a physician and run a business like I could do
Speaker 2: it too. Like I have that insight, I have that instinct,
Speaker 2: and I came from a family.
Speaker 1: Of business owners. He was he was a physician and
Speaker 1: running a business, yes, and then he realized you could
Speaker 1: do the same.
Speaker 2: Yep.
Speaker 1: I was helping him a lot, okay right with his
Speaker 1: business and what business was he in.
Speaker 2: He had a juice bar. He had a franchise juice bar,
Speaker 2: so I helped run that, and then he had a
Speaker 2: practice as a position he practice, so there were a
Speaker 2: lot of things that we did together to put in
Speaker 2: place to get his business off the ground. And being
Speaker 2: successful in his space empowered me to say, if I
Speaker 2: can help this man make.
Speaker 1: It, do it for yourself.
Speaker 2: Absolutely hell yeah.
Speaker 1: So how so when from that point did that transition.
Speaker 1: Did you go Okay, I'm gonna do it. And then
Speaker 1: obviously you're saying you kept a job too at the same.
Speaker 2: Time I did. So this is everybody's like, I quit
Speaker 2: my nine to five baby girl, don't do that. I
Speaker 2: needed that, even being you know, married to a physician,
Speaker 2: even having I wouldn't say a rich lifestyle, but it
Speaker 2: was comfortable. I wasn't worried about like the roof over
Speaker 2: my head. I still never was comfortable quitting my job.
Speaker 1: And then were you able to fully trust I guess
Speaker 1: after being a single mom where you did you have
Speaker 1: like secret person money where you Okay, yeah, I'm saying,
Speaker 1: because I don't have to be in a single parent
Speaker 1: you like.
Speaker 2: I.
Speaker 1: Like your hands.
Speaker 2: There was always a trust fund somewhere somewhere.
Speaker 1: Okay, hey, I like it. Yeah exactly.
Speaker 2: I think you can do things when you're married community like,
Speaker 2: there's nothing wrong with that, But that foresight of knowing
Speaker 2: like I've had to do this on my own before
Speaker 2: never allowed me to like relinquish like full.
Speaker 1: And I feel like a little bit of trauma speaking up.
Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying because because you know what
Speaker 1: I'm saying, It's like, yo, he never gonna happen to
Speaker 1: me again.
Speaker 2: Exactly, I'll never live in a studio apartment with That's
Speaker 2: what I'm looking for, Like a look at me. This
Speaker 2: is the real struggle right here, cooking with a fork.
Speaker 1: You scratching the heck out of that pot.
Speaker 2: I am, I am, I hope it. Oh there we go.
Speaker 2: That's better.
Speaker 1: Yeah, much better. Okay, so you're in this marriage, you
Speaker 1: start to go, You're right, I'm a baddie. Let's go
Speaker 1: do this. So what's the first play?
Speaker 2: The first play is is I'm into hair. So part
Speaker 2: of what I did I didn't even bring this up
Speaker 2: when I was a single parent, is I had a
Speaker 2: friend that worked in the industry and she would sometimes
Speaker 2: have like stand in modeling gigs or things like that.
Speaker 2: So I modeled. I'm like almost six feet tall, so.
Speaker 1: You are tall, huh Yeah.
Speaker 2: So there were times that I did, like infomercials, like
Speaker 2: modeling gigs on the side just to kind of get through.
Speaker 2: And so I always was obsessed with my hair. That
Speaker 2: was just like a thing. So I said, what could
Speaker 2: I do as a business that I like I love
Speaker 2: and wouldn't feel like work. And the first thing was hair.
Speaker 2: I love beauty supply stores. I love hair. You'll see
Speaker 2: me today with this hair.
Speaker 1: You'll see that I love your hair. But thank you
Speaker 1: love it you already know, thank you.
Speaker 2: I love mixing it up. So every week, even when
Speaker 2: I was working for a DCFS, like when I got
Speaker 2: my paycheck, one of the first things I would do
Speaker 2: after I paid my bills was, you know, go get
Speaker 2: a new wig, Go get some new hair, mix it up.
Speaker 2: Like That's how I felt good about myself. So I
Speaker 2: knew that that was something that would never feel like
Speaker 2: work to me if I found a niche in the
Speaker 2: hair business. And so I started a hair company.
Speaker 1: Okay, a hair company. And what did that hair company do?
Speaker 2: So we sold hair extensions, weaves, wigs, and then I
Speaker 2: took the proceeds from that, and then I started a
Speaker 2: beauty supply store. And then that's where the chain the
Speaker 2: girl Kvetlet came from.
Speaker 1: Wow, and you were competing against Now that industry is
Speaker 1: monopoly by I want to I don't want to say,
Speaker 1: is it correct very much? Okay? Okay?
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 1: And so you're getting into a space where there's not
Speaker 1: that many people that look and feel like you.
Speaker 2: Correct, So I started my stores ten years ago. When
Speaker 2: I started ten years ago, there was no one that
Speaker 2: looked like me and my distributor. I think now it's
Speaker 2: kind of shifted where there's more black ownership and beauty
Speaker 2: supply stores. But when I started, absolutely not. So being
Speaker 2: able to even get my distributors to open up accounts
Speaker 2: for me was like a hard a hard test. Wow.
Speaker 1: And you say distributors, is that the people that sell
Speaker 1: you the middleman?
Speaker 2: Basically wow, yes, because obviously you don't buy from the
Speaker 2: manufacturers because they have these huge minimums fifty sixty seventy
Speaker 2: eighty thousand and oh.
Speaker 1: We don't know that, just so you know, Oh, ok,
Speaker 1: got it educated up right, because everyone has not opened
Speaker 1: up a beauty supply store. I just thought. You go
Speaker 1: to the manufacturers, and they are I mean.
Speaker 2: In some cases, but a lot of the bigger manufacturers
Speaker 2: because they are so large, they have six figure minimums
Speaker 2: fifty sixty seventy eighty thousand dollars, and so you carry
Speaker 2: so many lines, you can't go to every manufacturer, so
Speaker 2: you go to essentially a wholesaler. Yeah, so that was
Speaker 2: the struggle.
Speaker 1: You learned all this on the boots on the ground.
Speaker 2: Okay. I was a stalker and beauty supply stores for
Speaker 2: probably like six months before I even started. I would
Speaker 2: go in and see like if they had boxes on
Speaker 2: the floor, if they were restocking, like where their boxes
Speaker 2: were coming from.
Speaker 1: You, Yeah, all right, go ahead, my kind of gang.
Speaker 1: So okay.
Speaker 2: So I figured it out. And then when I found
Speaker 2: out where some of the main distributors were in LA,
Speaker 2: I just went in and I, you know, finagled them
Speaker 2: to open up my accounts.
Speaker 1: Okay. And then once you had accounts, did you go
Speaker 1: online or did you go store right away?
Speaker 2: I did a pop up shop first. So I didn't
Speaker 2: sign a long term lease because at this point I'm
Speaker 2: still not like confident. I don't know if this is
Speaker 2: going to work. I took a leave of absence from
Speaker 2: my job. I didn't quit because I was scared that
Speaker 2: I wouldn't be able to figure it out.
Speaker 1: How long is a leave of absence?
Speaker 2: So I took like a three month one. Then I
Speaker 2: renewed it for like another three months. So I took
Speaker 2: like do.
Speaker 1: You get paid on leaves of absence?
Speaker 2: You can use your time, So I saved up like
Speaker 2: my vacation time, my PTO time. So you use that you're.
Speaker 1: Smart smart Yeah, okay, and then that's when you would
Speaker 1: just pour into the business. Okay. I love the way
Speaker 1: you're thinking. This is chess, not checking, this.
Speaker 2: Is and I need my pay checks st at this point,
Speaker 2: I need something coming.
Speaker 1: And are you still married at this I'm still married? Oh?
Speaker 2: Still married? Okay, still married.
Speaker 1: And he's he's he's he's whispering supportive things in your
Speaker 1: ear to keep.
Speaker 2: For the most part at this point, Yeah, he's like,
Speaker 2: you know, figure it out, quit your job. You got it.
Speaker 2: And I'm like, no, I'm not quitting my job. I
Speaker 2: need my job. Ye, I need exactly, exactly exactly. We're
Speaker 2: not quitting any jobs that pay us on the first
Speaker 2: and the fifteenth. I need that. So yeah, it was
Speaker 2: really like, once I got the store off the ground
Speaker 2: and I saw that I could get to a point
Speaker 2: to make it profitable, then I felt comfortable quitting my job.
Speaker 2: But it wasn't immediate. It wasn't like, oh, I have
Speaker 2: this great business idea, I'm gonnaquit my job tomorrow.
Speaker 1: Yeah, And did you wait for the cash flow to
Speaker 1: build up before you actually pulled that trigger?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I did. I did, and I waited until I
Speaker 2: had like a profitable season, like.
Speaker 1: I didn't just season.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it wasn't like I had a profitable week. I
Speaker 2: went like thirty days and I'm like, okay, we're tracking up.
Speaker 2: We're tracking up. Cool because obviously in the beginning you don't. No.
Speaker 1: No, I usually trying to avoid pulling a check from
Speaker 1: any company now until year two, which is hard to do.
Speaker 1: But I'll tell you this. I like to build up
Speaker 1: a healthy cash flow before I jump on payroll. That's
Speaker 1: just my thing because it is just I don't know
Speaker 1: if it's the pandemics and all the hurdles we done
Speaker 1: went through. I'm traumatized.
Speaker 2: I get it.
Speaker 1: I'm like, no, after year two, we could start dipping
Speaker 1: into the kiddie fund that everyone else gets paid obviously first,
Speaker 1: but I try and survive lean and not off that
Speaker 1: company for the first two.
Speaker 2: That's that's good. Yeah, that's but I wasn't that disciplined
Speaker 2: I was.
Speaker 1: I was doing that means you were doing that means
Speaker 1: you were doing good though good enough. I feel like
Speaker 1: sometimes people underestimate, like and I have this discussion all
Speaker 1: the time. There's a difference between how much money you
Speaker 1: make and cash flow and the cash flow, I believe
Speaker 1: it or not, it does no matter how much money
Speaker 1: you generated as a company. If you can't manage that
Speaker 1: cash flow, it means absolutely not.
Speaker 2: You can make one hundred thousand dollars today, but if
Speaker 2: you've got to spend ninety nine thousand to get there.
Speaker 1: What is it? Yeah? And people, I meet too many
Speaker 1: entrepreneurs that don't quite understand cash But no, no, no,
Speaker 1: you have to respect that one little You gotta respect
Speaker 1: that flow you do and that's the only way you
Speaker 1: could really grow. In my opinion, it looks.
Speaker 2: Good though you know, now I know this is this
Speaker 2: is a little nostalgic for me. Yeah, I remember like
Speaker 2: having to do this after work.
Speaker 1: And so how many beauty supply stores do you own?
Speaker 2: It? We actually so in the height when I the
Speaker 2: Girl Cave, we had seven six locations. Now we've scaled
Speaker 2: back and we have four. We've closed two of them
Speaker 2: that were in areas that just didn't they just weren't working.
Speaker 2: So after the pandemic, we decided to close those two locals.
Speaker 2: But you close or so close, totally closed, and then
Speaker 2: we filtraded the inventory into other stores. So there wasn't
Speaker 2: like a total loss, so we kind of just saw
Speaker 2: it through at the end of those leases and said
Speaker 2: thank you, Ben, no thanks and yeah, focused on the
Speaker 2: stores that were super profitable.
Speaker 1: And are they all in LA.
Speaker 2: Yes, So we have one in Inglewood, I went in
Speaker 2: South Los Angeles, one in Anaheim, and then the other
Speaker 2: location in Texas.
Speaker 1: Oh Anna, what made you go all the way to Anaheim?
Speaker 2: A franchisee? So some of the.
Speaker 1: Franchises, I mean, you are a franchise.
Speaker 2: Sorry, correct? Correct? So when I had a mother and
Speaker 2: daughter approach and they wanted to open up a location
Speaker 2: and they were comfortable in Orange County and they found
Speaker 2: a location in Anaheim, and so we opened it. Wow.
Speaker 1: Yeah, And now can you tell us the pros of
Speaker 1: being a franchisee For all those listeners out there that
Speaker 1: are thinking, hey, I want to open a beauty supply
Speaker 1: stories seem it's really easy.
Speaker 2: You know what. I think that's the irony of it.
Speaker 2: People think because it's hair and because it's beauty, it's easy.
Speaker 2: It's actually not, like the industry doesn't make it easier.
Speaker 2: So I would say, yeah, don't get into a franchise
Speaker 2: model and think because the model already exists that it
Speaker 2: somehow is like easy. It's not.
Speaker 1: Oh, I thought it would be easier if you do
Speaker 1: a franchise.
Speaker 2: You still got to have that instinct to go get it.
Speaker 2: You know what I'm saying. It's not like a blueprint
Speaker 2: of success. It's maybe you know some systems in place,
Speaker 2: which is helpful. I'm not going to say it's not.
Speaker 2: But but you also have the distributors, right, correct, So
Speaker 2: those are things that are easier, right, So it's built in.
Speaker 2: You don't have to go find your distributors, you don't
Speaker 2: have to go find your product list, but you still
Speaker 2: got to be in there and interacting with your staff
Speaker 2: and making sure you meet payroll and making sure you're
Speaker 2: meeting your sales goals. Like that doesn't yeah, that doesn't
Speaker 2: go away. Yeah. Yeah. So and I learned that because
Speaker 2: the juice bar that my ex husband had was in
Speaker 2: a franchise model. So I learned the pros and cons
Speaker 2: of being a franchisee. Yeah.
Speaker 1: But for any listeners out there, would you advise franchise
Speaker 1: over or starting on your own?
Speaker 2: It depends on the industry. I think, Okay, this industry,
Speaker 2: beauty supply industry. I would say yes, because there's so
Speaker 2: many pieces that go with it. If it's something that
Speaker 2: you're familiar and then a lot of people are not
Speaker 2: familiar with the hair industry. Like I just started talking
Speaker 2: about manufacturers and stuff and you're like, hold on this
Speaker 2: and go back. Oh no, we don't know, we don't know.
Speaker 2: So if that is not instinctual to you, if that
Speaker 2: doesn't make sense to you, then yeah, obviously a franchise model.
Speaker 2: But if it's an industry that you're familiar with, I
Speaker 2: wouldn't go to the franchise out, Okay. I just wouldn't, okay,
Speaker 2: because part of being the business owner is you get
Speaker 2: the creativity and you get to build, and the franchise
Speaker 2: you don't. It's no creative. The creative is.
Speaker 1: There already controlled. You gotta ask for permission, right because
Speaker 1: that's the queen of the house.
Speaker 2: It's exactly down to the color of your walls, right.
Speaker 2: Like I remember being in a franchise model with the
Speaker 2: juice bar and they say, you know what, we're changing
Speaker 2: all the stories, concepts and you have to pay for that.
Speaker 2: Franchise is not giving you money to pa cheap. Hey,
Speaker 2: we don't want to do plastic anymore. We want wood finishing.
Speaker 2: Like you're at the discretion of a corporate model. So yes,
Speaker 2: great when you're starting, but as you grow as a
Speaker 2: business owner and you want that leverage to be able
Speaker 2: to be creative, you don't really have that in a
Speaker 2: franchise model. Dang. Yeah.
Speaker 1: Okay, so after the Cave the Girl Cave La. Now
Speaker 1: you have all your stores. It's been in business for
Speaker 1: over ten years now.
Speaker 2: Yes, we just celebrated ten years in April this year.
Speaker 1: Okay, so what is your next place? Because you have
Speaker 1: multiple businesses.
Speaker 2: You know what, I Oh, my goodness, I'm becoming less
Speaker 2: fascinated with retail, and I really want to dive into
Speaker 2: more the digital marketing space with our brand, because you know,
Speaker 2: we have hype Per now under the Hypeer before though
Speaker 2: or I brought hype Peer after hyper has been existence
Speaker 2: for thirty five years, but I purchased it five years ago.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Oh okay, so I really want to dig into that more.
Speaker 2: Retail is cool, but it's brutal. Yeah, it's like, honestly,
Speaker 2: sometimes I think, how did you get into the restaurant
Speaker 2: business and the retail business, Like you pick the most hardest.
Speaker 1: Yeah, the restaurant business, the club business and the magazine
Speaker 1: business are like the worst. I mean, not the worst,
Speaker 1: and they are.
Speaker 2: They're the worst to make money.
Speaker 1: And I feel like you just have to have a
Speaker 1: real good, strong sales ethic. And I don't know if you,
Speaker 1: as the owner, are that much removed because I feel
Speaker 1: like the owner is always the best sales person.
Speaker 2: I am.
Speaker 1: I am, and I hate that. I know, I hate that.
Speaker 1: Don't you wish you could clone yourself?
Speaker 2: I know, I said all the time, if I have
Speaker 2: five of me's, i'd be a billionaire.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, for sure, it would be well same my number.
Speaker 1: You know, maybe you Okay, So okay, tell me about
Speaker 1: Hype hair.
Speaker 2: Got it? So everybody knows hype hair, Like it's just
Speaker 2: nostalgic for for all women of color. I think I
Speaker 2: don't think it's just black women, because I have a
Speaker 2: lot of friends from different races, and when I told
Speaker 2: them I was purchasing Hype Hair, They're like, oh, I
Speaker 2: remember that magazine. So we've had Beyonce on the cover,
Speaker 2: Rihanna Nyah Long like, think of every staple. It's a
Speaker 2: staple magazine exactly. So through the process of owning The
Speaker 2: Girl k La and I was doing reality TV. I
Speaker 2: was doing some press with Hypeer. A friend of mine, Mimi,
Speaker 2: who's in Atlanta, has a sister publication, and she said,
Speaker 2: you should meet the owner. I think he's going to sell. Yeah,
Speaker 2: a guy, a white guy from New Jersey own Hypeer.
Speaker 2: Isn't that crazy? Would Yeah, a white guy from New
Speaker 2: Jersey super He's like I could call him to this day.
Speaker 2: He's a really good guy. But he was going to
Speaker 2: sail and he said, you know what, I feel like
Speaker 2: the right thing to do is to park hype Haer
Speaker 2: in the hands of a woman of color. So yeah,
Speaker 2: we got to know each other. We negotiated, We went
Speaker 2: back and forth, we tried to decide what we were
Speaker 2: going to do, and then we came to an agreement.
Speaker 2: And then we went and he sold me Hypeer.
Speaker 1: Wow, Now what did that body of work look like?
Speaker 1: Come on, we gotta we gotta dive. You see the
Speaker 1: pot is even.
Speaker 2: Oh my god, it's so much. It's so much like
Speaker 2: hype Pair is a legacy publication, so there's so much
Speaker 2: responsibility in that. You can't just slap anything on the cover.
Speaker 2: Like our subscribers are savvy, they're loyal, they've been a
Speaker 2: part of the magazine for years. So it's just a
Speaker 2: lot of I could go on and on. It's just
Speaker 2: a lot of work.
Speaker 1: Yeah, what hat do you wear? Primarily since taking over.
Speaker 2: Everything, really, I'm really focused on visibility and sales right now,
Speaker 2: so making sure we have the right partnerships, the right
Speaker 2: brand partnerships, to make sure that people don't see us
Speaker 2: as just you know, going to grab money, but they
Speaker 2: see it as authentic relationships. So a lot of the
Speaker 2: brands that we're working with and a lot of brands
Speaker 2: want to work with Hype Pair. I'm super grateful for that,
Speaker 2: but sometimes we're not able to work with them because
Speaker 2: we don't want our subscribers and the people that are
Speaker 2: following us to feel like we're just putting something in
Speaker 2: front of their face.
Speaker 1: You're turning down checks.
Speaker 2: Sometime, what if it doesn't align what I know? It's no,
Speaker 2: I know, if it doesn't align with the vision and
Speaker 2: of Hypair, you know it just it doesn't look. That's
Speaker 2: how I feel. Sometimes I'm like, no, we.
Speaker 1: Can't now, Yeah, you're making that executive decision to say no,
Speaker 1: you making.
Speaker 2: Because it's a legacy brand.
Speaker 1: I get it.
Speaker 2: It comes it's a lot with it. So I can't
Speaker 2: just you know, there's so many brands that just want
Speaker 2: to get on the backs of that voice, because you
Speaker 2: do have a strong voice. And no, we're not turning
Speaker 2: down a lot of checks now, but I'm just saying
Speaker 2: just every once in a while, yeah, if it doesn't
Speaker 2: align with the mission. To me, all money is not
Speaker 2: good money.
Speaker 1: I only say that when a person haggles me. Whenever
Speaker 1: a person haggles me, I'm like, no, no, no, keep your money.
Speaker 2: I already know you, already know what that's going to
Speaker 2: turn into exactly.
Speaker 1: But if you're not haggling, I'm I'm up for negotiation.
Speaker 1: That's the only time I label bad money is when
Speaker 1: you haggle. Anytime someone haggles, I'm like, I'm.
Speaker 2: Good, you know what that comes.
Speaker 1: I don't mind a discount, but a haggle, A haggle
Speaker 1: is out. It's a non negotiable. We don't even have
Speaker 1: to need We part in peace. But you're turning out checks,
Speaker 1: okay for our legacy on.
Speaker 2: A scalt of one to ten, that's like a point five. Yes.
Speaker 2: The point I'm making is is that because there's so
Speaker 2: much history with the brand, we can't just say yes
Speaker 2: to everything. I like that we have to be in
Speaker 2: you know, we are inclusive, but we have to be
Speaker 2: exclusive also at the same time.
Speaker 1: So what's the day in the life working for Hype Air, Well.
Speaker 2: We ask my publisher, I probably get on her nerves.
Speaker 2: I love you, Trish, But we are always posting on
Speaker 2: socials or making sure our voice is heard. We're talking
Speaker 2: to brands about advertising with us. A lot of things
Speaker 2: that we've done in the last four years under my
Speaker 2: leadership is not traditional advertising. We're doing like activations, So
Speaker 2: we've done activations in Miami for brands. Essence Fest is
Speaker 2: another big platform for us where we activate with brands.
Speaker 2: Finder Brothers the show have you familiar Runner Brothers. They
Speaker 2: do a huge hair show in Atlanta, so we've been
Speaker 2: their media partners. So just really cultivating those relationships. I say,
Speaker 2: you don't always get on the phone with someone just
Speaker 2: when you need money, right, Like a lot of it
Speaker 2: is like checking in, like what is the brand need
Speaker 2: from us? And sometimes we do things for free because
Speaker 2: brands are loyal to us. So it's now do cultivate.
Speaker 1: Ever bring the two companies you have together.
Speaker 2: All the time. I'm actually in the process of dissolving
Speaker 2: the girl k La and making all of our stories
Speaker 2: hype here, so.
Speaker 1: We'll be the beauty umbrella that actually makes absolute perfect sense.
Speaker 1: And that's actually very brilliant, very that's smart.
Speaker 2: I'm excited for that transition. It should be done by
Speaker 2: the end of this year.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's that's a big move and it's a big movie.
Speaker 1: That was your genius.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I just felt like I was working on two ships.
Speaker 2: It's like, no, no, let's put everything together and let's
Speaker 2: drive the same boat.
Speaker 1: So now you have a retail section of h and
Speaker 1: now you have the magazine digital where you bring in
Speaker 1: all these other additional partners that are targeting that same demo.
Speaker 2: Correct, and then we have a we have licensing deals,
Speaker 2: so we like a licensing deal with Connie, the haircare
Speaker 2: company of the you did that do so it was
Speaker 2: it was existing, but it was dormant. So under my leadership,
Speaker 2: I cultivated the relationship where we relaunched our lines. So
Speaker 2: we're in I want to say, like eight thousand stores
Speaker 2: right now Burlington, North Trump's, Rag Walmart's and Walmart's in Canada,
Speaker 2: but I think we're in like eight thousand doors right now.
Speaker 1: That's amazing. Yep, all right, and then let's move into
Speaker 1: the last well, the last currently that I know about. Yes,
Speaker 1: if I'm missing something, the Savoy hah, I just wanted
Speaker 1: to make it harder.
Speaker 2: Yeah, like you have a magazine and retail stores, like
Speaker 2: let's go open a club, right.
Speaker 1: And this all happened around the same time as Hype.
Speaker 2: Pair, right, Yes, so high Pair came first. Okay, super
Speaker 2: super successful, like right when I took over it, and
Speaker 2: my confidence was like, oh cool, Like I'm like, we're
Speaker 2: doing this, and the opportunity the Savoy I'm from Inglewood,
Speaker 2: still live in Inglewood.
Speaker 1: That's like, you like these legacy things I do?
Speaker 2: I do. I feel like it. I feel like parts
Speaker 2: of our culture should be owned by people that care,
Speaker 2: and I feel like I care good. So yeah, the Savoy.
Speaker 2: I was literally driving down the Brain and I saw
Speaker 2: for sale sign. I called my sister and I say,
Speaker 2: let's the SA Boys for sale, and she immediately says,
Speaker 2: let's buy it. I'm thinking my sister is going to
Speaker 2: be like, girl, keep driving. She is.
Speaker 1: She is You guys are terrible to get she is
Speaker 1: my sister. I love that for you.
Speaker 2: Yeah, she owns They actually are ranked one of the
Speaker 2: top wine bars in the country in Inglewood. It's called
Speaker 2: ten ten Wines and it's.
Speaker 1: Yeah, oh, y'all are like a dynamic.
Speaker 2: Yeah yeah, yeah. So when they did see this is
Speaker 2: what I'm saying. It's hard for me to be upset
Speaker 2: that they put me out because they put they put
Speaker 2: that in us.
Speaker 1: If you were homeless, I'll blame them to You could
Speaker 1: have gone either way to feed us.
Speaker 2: Yes, okay, I'm sitting here talking and I'm gonna mix
Speaker 2: this in because I don't want to make too much
Speaker 2: of a mess. And go ahead, there we go.
Speaker 1: I'm sure people in the back are hungry too. I
Speaker 1: know you're feeding the whole crew today.
Speaker 2: Is that okay? Well, I hope.
Speaker 1: I made brenzino for lunch. I make a mean brenzino.
Speaker 2: Do you know that that's my favorite fish?
Speaker 1: Are you a mean?
Speaker 2: I love a good whole branzino with some olives and tomatoes,
Speaker 2: and like a.
Speaker 1: Girl, I don't do all that you just made my bandle,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna make you a really good Brenzino. I make
Speaker 1: really good brinzino. I practice it almost every week. I'm
Speaker 1: prating ways. Yes, I love prinzina. Okay, yes, my favorite fish.
Speaker 2: It's my favorite too.
Speaker 3: That's crazy, Okay, we have a lot of common, all right,
Speaker 3: So this is the boy you call, y'all A like,
Speaker 3: let's do it.
Speaker 2: She says, let's buy it. So I called the real
Speaker 2: estate agent and they say, well, come see it. I'm like,
Speaker 2: well when they said, well, we're actually here now.
Speaker 1: Now, when they say for sale, they mean the restaurant
Speaker 1: was for sale or the brand was for.
Speaker 2: Sale, so not the business. The building. Oh, the building, Yes,
Speaker 2: the building was for sale at this time. I didn't
Speaker 2: know what was for sale. I just saw it for sale. Song.
Speaker 2: We later found out that the building was for sale,
Speaker 2: and so that's why we we kind of gutted it,
Speaker 2: renovated it, and we've made it our own. It's actually
Speaker 2: called Free event Space now.
Speaker 1: Free event Space okay, so we're not plugging this boy.
Speaker 1: We're plugging Free events Space.
Speaker 2: You know what we get away from the name, though, I.
Speaker 1: Know, I love that she loves her legacy. You can't
Speaker 1: get a Savoy you end up at the same spot.
Speaker 2: I was there this morning and a lady called and
Speaker 2: she said, where are you guys? And I just said,
Speaker 2: where the old Savoy is. She immediately knew what I
Speaker 2: was talking about. So it's like, so, okay, so you
Speaker 2: can fight it. Okay, I love that for you. I
Speaker 2: love the Savoy. When it was the Savoy, I loved it.
Speaker 2: So listen, it's called for event space now, but it's.
Speaker 1: Free form event space, but it's formally the Savoyd correct. Okay,
Speaker 1: Well I'll be going there.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, yeah. We have amazing food, amazing staff. I
Speaker 2: love it. Okay, I'm there every Now.
Speaker 1: Are you guys competitively priced like comparison to people who
Speaker 1: host events at the like the hotels.
Speaker 2: Oh, we're way more affordable.
Speaker 1: Okay.
Speaker 2: All of our client we do have corporate clients, but
Speaker 2: ninety five percent of our clients are people that are
Speaker 2: in the community. We do repass as birthday parties.
Speaker 1: What's the capacity on it?
Speaker 2: Oh, I think we're at like five twenty.
Speaker 1: Five twenty is it layers?
Speaker 2: It's ten thousand square feet.
Speaker 1: I haven't been in there because I know you remodeled it, right.
Speaker 2: Yeah, so we have like a little small staircase that
Speaker 2: leads to outdoor patio, but it's all one level.
Speaker 1: Awesome, ten thousand square and then can you break up
Speaker 1: the room if you're doing less? How what are the
Speaker 1: breaking sets, the event.
Speaker 2: Planner and guys, I know, I know you have a
Speaker 2: lounge area, okay, that we accommodate seventy five or less, okay,
Speaker 2: but the main space is five five twenty twenty awesome.
Speaker 1: Who who's events to be hosted? If you don't mind
Speaker 1: me as we let's see.
Speaker 2: We've had so many artists. Romaine Virgo, who's my favorite
Speaker 2: Jamaican singers. He's performed there.
Speaker 1: You are going to destroy your clothes. Girl. You are
Speaker 1: not bad and good right now I'm Talking's the other
Speaker 1: tool to feed us?
Speaker 2: Please? Like I gotta eat, listen, I don't want to taste.
Speaker 2: I gotta taste to be prest servant because I don't
Speaker 2: want you.
Speaker 1: You can't mess some spaghetti, especially if you know how
Speaker 1: to make you be able to mess it up, because
Speaker 1: I don't. You was pulling a lot of soap, but
Speaker 1: you know because.
Speaker 2: It's slap you guys have to slap your mama. That's
Speaker 2: like one of my favorite that's real New Orleans.
Speaker 1: I know it's good. Is it good? Please don't judge it.
Speaker 1: Come on, just feed us, man, feed us.
Speaker 2: No, I don't even want to give it to you.
Speaker 1: Why it can't be that bad.
Speaker 2: No, it can be.
Speaker 1: Look, don't worry that they halfn't wait and me will
Speaker 1: enjoy it regardless. Okay, I don't feel right serving, let's
Speaker 1: see it. We'll be fine. This is just for the show.
Speaker 1: And then I'll tell everybody. We'll tell everybody listens how
Speaker 1: it's terrible your.
Speaker 2: No, no, no, it's bad. We go it's bad.
Speaker 1: I hope it's good.
Speaker 2: No, no, no, it's not. I'm not even gonna blame you.
Speaker 2: Did I give you an don't mom, No, it's not bad.
Speaker 1: No, okay, maybe and you can give me more smarty. Okay,
Speaker 1: it was not bad at all. Okay, it wasn't bad
Speaker 1: at all. I don't know what she's talking about.
Speaker 2: I had higher expectations for it. Maybe that's what.
Speaker 1: Okay, So then we'll blame the half white. We'll blame
Speaker 1: the half white of me for enjoying this regardless. You know,
Speaker 1: look at it. It has the peppers in it, just
Speaker 1: a little bit like the onions. It feels like it's
Speaker 1: a real Plasta dish like you. You know, it's official.
Speaker 1: Don't hate on your food.
Speaker 2: Isn't it a little bit more? Slap your mama?
Speaker 1: No, it's okay, fine, okay, you want to add more
Speaker 1: salt and poisoning, right, because.
Speaker 2: That's a whole nother thing.
Speaker 1: Ms. Fine, was okay, it's delicious. I would love to
Speaker 1: hate on you, but it's fine.
Speaker 2: It's perfect on a scale of one to ten. My
Speaker 2: feelings won't get hurt.
Speaker 1: I did not eat. For all your listeners, it is
Speaker 1: a certified nine. What I didn't eat though I was starving. Okay,
Speaker 1: I had apples for breakfast.
Speaker 2: Okay, I'll take my nine. I'm taking my nie take
Speaker 2: your name, I'm taking it.
Speaker 1: I think it's perfect. Okay, cool, all right, I don't
Speaker 1: know what what do you think is bad about it?
Speaker 1: It's seasoned, it has enough.
Speaker 2: Maybe the noodles are a little bit overcooked. Maybe that's
Speaker 2: what I'm feeling. No, no, are.
Speaker 1: You judging yourself hard?
Speaker 2: See why am I like that?
Speaker 1: Yeah? Here, move the things before you spill that on yourself.
Speaker 1: And moved that to the side so we get a
Speaker 1: get shot of you.
Speaker 2: Oh no, I got it?
Speaker 1: Yeah you good? Yeah, this is delicious.
Speaker 2: What do you think you would change the Pastasa does
Speaker 2: not know? Maybe that's what's.
Speaker 1: Not at all?
Speaker 2: Okay, So it's just perfect.
Speaker 1: M right, you're over judging it. H You're totally over
Speaker 1: judging it. Matter of fact, I would have messed up
Speaker 1: the pasta because you totally freestyled of with no timer.
Speaker 1: So I did. And you know this is perfect pasta. Congratulations.
Speaker 1: Not only are a great entrepreneur, but you can cook.
Speaker 2: Okay, I can throw something together ant.
Speaker 1: And you know what, if I cook pasta from now on,
Speaker 1: I will add peppers and onions to it because I
Speaker 1: think it makes a difference.
Speaker 2: It does, It totally does. Absolutely.
Speaker 1: Now I get why when you was broke, you still
Speaker 1: you still hooked it up much as a bell pepper,
Speaker 1: Like yeah, like this whole meal was less than five bucks.
Speaker 1: See yeah, and we had protein pasta, come on, so
Speaker 1: you could feel a little less guilty about eating it.
Speaker 2: You know all the time you can make it work
Speaker 2: with less than ten dollars.
Speaker 1: So okay, So the savoy take me into the day
Speaker 1: in the life, the ups and downs of what happened
Speaker 1: with that whole transaction, because I know no transactions ever smooth.
Speaker 1: Oh my god, I could literally does it come with
Speaker 1: a liquor license? M hm okay, good right, well tell.
Speaker 2: Me no, it didn't. It came with an opportunity to
Speaker 2: buy a liquor license, but we ended up going through
Speaker 2: a broker. But yes, it was for sale with the
Speaker 2: liquor license. We went on our our own journey to
Speaker 2: get our own but and.
Speaker 1: Then did you have someone else negotiate your lease?
Speaker 2: So we ended up buying the building.
Speaker 1: Oh you bought the building. Oh you guys were like,
Speaker 1: I don't want to use Donald Trump, but you are Trumpet.
Speaker 1: I don't know another person to use. But oh, y'all
Speaker 1: are like that. And you did it as sisters.
Speaker 2: Yes, so yeah, my sisters and I were call owners. Yes,
Speaker 2: three of us. My sister Leslie and I are like
Speaker 2: super involved though we're the and y'all.
Speaker 1: Want it together. Oh, this story just got better. And
Speaker 1: what did the husband say? So the husband that's.
Speaker 2: The ex husband. Now, so that's a whole story. So
Speaker 2: we brought it obviously I'm married, California everything.
Speaker 1: Yeah, the unity say, did y'all buy it under a
Speaker 1: corporation or we did?
Speaker 2: We did, and then it was separate, So no, the
Speaker 2: problem we brought it with the it was my sisters
Speaker 2: and obviously I'm married, so it was the ex husband
Speaker 2: and so part of the struggle after we purchased the
Speaker 2: building is we were going through a divorce. We ended
Speaker 2: up filing for a divorce shortly after we got the
Speaker 2: building and we ended up litigating the ownership of it
Speaker 2: for about a year and a half.
Speaker 1: Yeah, no, I know that was tough.
Speaker 2: I'm so connected to that space because I really fought
Speaker 2: for it. It went through a court receivership while the
Speaker 2: judge was trying to decide who was going to get
Speaker 2: it civil law. Yeah.
Speaker 1: Ultimately, Now did your sisters give you a little bit
Speaker 1: hell for that?
Speaker 2: I think I'm still paying for it. That's why I'm
Speaker 2: so dedicated. Yeah, they put their life savings into buying
Speaker 2: this amazing so they were shook.
Speaker 1: Absolutely, See absolutely, I think there is trauma. I'm gonna
Speaker 1: take it back to the single momhood because even though
Speaker 1: I am married. Yeah, this is horrible to admit, and
Speaker 1: you know, but I always think about if divorce happens,
Speaker 1: Like I owned the property before I bought I got married.
Speaker 1: People always ask me, are you're gonna sell itry? Absolutely not,
Speaker 1: And because once you sell, it becomes communal. And in
Speaker 1: the back of my mind, I know, as messed up
Speaker 1: as it is, like, oh I can get we can
Speaker 1: get gold together on some things. But in the back
Speaker 1: of my mind, whatever was a communal is safe, you know,
Speaker 1: or whatever. And if I were to do something with
Speaker 1: my family, I'd be like, look, man, we're gonna have
Speaker 1: to have a promisary. Note that thing is going on
Speaker 1: the yo ning seriously, you know what I'm.
Speaker 2: Saying, seriously. So that was my mistake. My mistake was
Speaker 2: not understanding you know you. I didn't. I never thought
Speaker 2: I would get divorced, but I never thought like divorce
Speaker 2: was so nasty and messy, and when emotions and money
Speaker 2: and four point five million dollar property is involved, the
Speaker 2: guns come out. So we have to deal with a
Speaker 2: lot to get it.
Speaker 1: I was having a discussion with my dad and shout
Speaker 1: out to my dad. He just started a company called
Speaker 1: La County Politics dot com, all right, and he was
Speaker 1: gonna let one of his employees create the one of
Speaker 1: the Facebook pages. I was like, absolutely not, absolutely not,
Speaker 1: absolutely not. He was like, oh, but she's such a
Speaker 1: good work. I said, yeah, but you don't know how
Speaker 1: people battle. When I have a girlfriend who told me
Speaker 1: that when she dates, she's a public record. She says
Speaker 1: people that have been divorced are the greatest to date
Speaker 1: because you need to look at how they handled and
Speaker 1: treated their spouse in a divorce.
Speaker 2: That's so true.
Speaker 1: And I was like, Yo, you need to screen on
Speaker 1: all my lovers in the future. But the truth of
Speaker 1: the MATTERSS, you can't predict them. You can't predict anything
Speaker 1: like that.
Speaker 2: I never imagined in a million years of things that
Speaker 2: I went through my divorce I would go through, right.
Speaker 2: I never, I've never guessed it.
Speaker 1: But that's where I think for me, the trauma's there.
Speaker 1: It's a real thing. Yeah, even here in this store,
Speaker 1: I'd be like, you know what, in future, this business
Speaker 1: is going under such and such as name you know,
Speaker 1: because you're right, damn that's crazy.
Speaker 2: Quick claim, quit claim deeds, all of that. If you
Speaker 2: buy a property, like you have to be mindful the
Speaker 2: person you divorced is not the person you married. I
Speaker 2: remember my attorney would tell me that.
Speaker 1: I would be like, why is he doing this?
Speaker 2: He would never She's like, he's not the guy you married.
Speaker 2: Stop thinking, yeah that he's that guy. He's not that
Speaker 2: guy anymore. And so when I came to terms with that,
Speaker 2: then I just like accepted that I'm in a battle,
Speaker 2: right Like I'm in a fight.
Speaker 1: Is what it is. And you, guys, at this point
Speaker 1: you have to break communication like opposing sides, right.
Speaker 2: Tell the attorney we're not even communicating at this point.
Speaker 2: We still don't really communicy in this.
Speaker 1: But yeah, because that's years, you know, that's a whole relationship.
Speaker 1: That's a I don't I can't imagine how tough it is.
Speaker 1: But like I said, I think the greatest teacher of
Speaker 1: all time, it will be the single parent error because
Speaker 1: after that.
Speaker 2: You And that's how I got through my divorce because
Speaker 2: I reminded myself you've done this by yourself before, so
Speaker 2: don't think you can't do this by yourself.
Speaker 1: And this person played a pivotal role in also believing
Speaker 1: in you. So that's got to be a tough one too.
Speaker 2: Exactly.
Speaker 1: So a day in the life of Savoy now I
Speaker 1: already know, Hypair. I kind of get a core of
Speaker 1: your who you are as far as your integrity when
Speaker 1: it comes to legacy and branding and respecting these brands.
Speaker 1: I see your passion and your love for that, and
Speaker 1: I love that for you, even though integrity where you
Speaker 1: turn down to check it's crazy. I love that not
Speaker 1: too many you've been a business for yourself for over
Speaker 1: ten years, you haven't worked for someone officially, and over
Speaker 1: probably of say twenty.
Speaker 2: Let's see, it hasn't been maybe fifteen years.
Speaker 1: Okay, that's great, Okay, and then you survive the pandemic.
Speaker 1: Mm hmmm, because let me tell you something, d the pandemic.
Speaker 1: I took a little job. I went for a startup.
Speaker 1: Murdered it. By the way, I love it, but I
Speaker 1: had to. I had to get on that knee. And
Speaker 1: COVID was a humbling reminder that all my eggs can't
Speaker 1: be in one basket. I was like, man, my company's
Speaker 1: killing it, and COVID this seconds all right. So with
Speaker 1: that being said, now we get into the savoy and
Speaker 1: a divorce in the middle of savoy.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, yeah, And I'm still got to be a mom, right,
Speaker 2: got three kids?
Speaker 1: You got three You have two kids together, and you
Speaker 1: guys aren't talking. But now you're remarried. Shout outs to
Speaker 1: you are a gags.
Speaker 2: The fact that I even got remarried it was crazy
Speaker 2: after everything I went through. But yeah, yeah, I have
Speaker 2: an amazing husband, super dope. He's at the building now
Speaker 2: making sure an event we're doing is going the way.
Speaker 1: Okay, I love that. So it's like a partnership thing,
Speaker 1: right or died.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you signed that paperwork though, like prenup all of
Speaker 2: it whatever. No people tell you to sign sign it
Speaker 2: m hm, because I can never go through that again.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and that's smart, that's smart. I love that for you, Okay,
Speaker 1: I love that for you. I have so much respect
Speaker 1: and admiration for you right now. Okay, So okay, tell
Speaker 1: me a day in the life of running the Savoy.
Speaker 2: Oh okay.
Speaker 1: So you don't get to actually eat on the show.
Speaker 1: You get to nibble.
Speaker 2: I know. I'm learning that because I want to like
Speaker 2: dig in. You're right, it's not that bad. And I'm
Speaker 2: actually hungry too, really good, okayod this is what I needed.
Speaker 2: A day in the life of the Savoy or me
Speaker 2: of no of you in the Savoy Okay, got it.
Speaker 2: So usually starts okay, usually it starts off with walkthroughs.
Speaker 2: That's how we start our day because we're always selling
Speaker 2: the space. So even if we just open the doors
Speaker 2: and just three people walk through that day, that's a success.
Speaker 2: So it's usually getting there early, making sure the cleaning
Speaker 2: who did their job, making sure our walkthroughs are scheduled,
Speaker 2: doing our walkthroughs, making sure we allow up with people,
Speaker 2: have then walk throughs earlier in the week, secure those dates,
Speaker 2: adding dates to our master calendar. And then we have
Speaker 2: a restaurant there. So then there's a whole operation of
Speaker 2: restaurant depot, alcohol distributors, this and that and that's going on.
Speaker 2: So I'm managing that and sometimes I am at restaurant
Speaker 2: depot getting what we need.
Speaker 1: But smart cool that means you're just riding it out,
Speaker 1: doing whatever you gotta.
Speaker 2: Do, whatever I gotta do. And then we go into
Speaker 2: lunch service, then we going to dinner service, and I
Speaker 2: say probably four days out the week we have a
Speaker 2: private event. So just making sure the client has four.
Speaker 1: Days out of a week, that's great. That's really great
Speaker 1: for you guys.
Speaker 2: Like today we have two events. We have a repass
Speaker 2: during the day and then we have a private birthday
Speaker 2: party tonight. So just doing it nice scheduling.
Speaker 1: Now, now, with all these businesses you have going on,
Speaker 1: I just want a small recap of an actual Okay,
Speaker 1: I wake up at six, What does this routine look
Speaker 1: like on an average day? Don't give me a lounger.
Speaker 2: Day, got it? Sure doesn't happen you know, my lounger
Speaker 2: day is Monday, Okay, cool, So when everybody's starting their week,
Speaker 2: I'm like chilling because the Savoy is closed and my
Speaker 2: beauty so apply stores. That's like our slow day. So
Speaker 2: Monday is my day off. Okay. But yeah, on an
Speaker 2: average day, I get up at like five am. I
Speaker 2: don't get out of bed, but I'm up. I'm responding
Speaker 2: to emails for hype Pair because a lot of our
Speaker 2: ad partners are on the East Coast, so I want
Speaker 2: to match their response time. So checking in with my
Speaker 2: team for Hypeaer who are in Atlanta. Usually I'm up
Speaker 2: in out the house around like eight thirty nine o'clock
Speaker 2: and then we go right into Savoy mode, right into
Speaker 2: checking on the store.
Speaker 1: How do the kids get routed there?
Speaker 2: So the kids are with their dad a lot of times.
Speaker 2: That's a whole nother story. My ex husband is Middle
Speaker 2: Eastern and in their culture, when you divorce, I think
Speaker 2: in the black culture, when you divorce, you like it's
Speaker 2: just known, you go with your mama. It's not that way.
Speaker 2: So I have a lot of what's the word, I
Speaker 2: don't want to say, free time, but I have a
Speaker 2: lot of discretionary time when it comes to my kids.
Speaker 2: And then my oldest is twenty one, she's an adult.
Speaker 2: So the kids, you're not managing like a day to day,
Speaker 2: not all of their schedules at routine like their dad
Speaker 2: does a lot of that. Today I have them, but
Speaker 2: it's not until the afternoon until the evening, so I'm
Speaker 2: able to do my thing and do my work thing and.
Speaker 1: It's kind of cool though it is to be honest,
Speaker 1: because it's like a balance versus it is.
Speaker 2: But it isn't right. So part of it is like
Speaker 2: when you divorce, you have to create a new normal
Speaker 2: for your children, and I just feel like my ex
Speaker 2: husband and I we haven't gotten to that place and
Speaker 2: so we kind of just have to do what we
Speaker 2: got to do to get through it. But it's not
Speaker 2: ideal for me as a parent, But I accept that
Speaker 2: that's just the place that I'm in and that's who
Speaker 2: I'm married, and.
Speaker 1: That's yeah, okay, what can you do? Okay, that makes sense.
Speaker 1: So you go to the Savoy and say you start
Speaker 1: your day at nine thirty nine, you leave the house
Speaker 1: and then you go to the Savoy.
Speaker 2: Yep, And then I'm there. I'm doing the walkthroughs I'm
Speaker 2: making sure it's clean, I'm getting us ready for lunch service,
Speaker 2: and then usually I'm able to brand shop during the
Speaker 2: day and then go check on the retail stores, going
Speaker 2: to the distributors, making sure we're fully stocked, scheduling, payroll,
Speaker 2: all the things, business, whatever comes up that day, go
Speaker 2: to the city.
Speaker 1: Whatever that is.
Speaker 2: And then I usually take a break during the middle
Speaker 2: of my day, go home, regroup because usually I start
Speaker 2: off my dance sweatpants and a hoodie. I like to
Speaker 2: go back to this avoid looking like the owner, so
Speaker 2: I'll usually transition arriving correct.
Speaker 1: Correct, I love that.
Speaker 2: Okay, So my break is during the middle of the day,
Speaker 2: I go home, get ready for my evening, and then
Speaker 2: I'm there all night like there, it was there till
Speaker 2: midnight last night, Jesus. We had a comedy show.
Speaker 1: Comedy shows, yeah, yeah, And then where can everybody see
Speaker 1: the schedules of everything you have going on?
Speaker 2: For Instagram, we post when we have events. So it's
Speaker 2: free events space on Instagram and.
Speaker 1: Free event space on Instagram. Okay, no dots, no dat,
Speaker 1: free event space, not la, just free events okay, free
Speaker 1: event space.
Speaker 2: So that's that, and then I'm into event mode or
Speaker 2: whatever comedy show mode.
Speaker 1: Or now your sisters were involved in the Savoy, So
Speaker 1: how does that work? Do they do dai to day operations?
Speaker 2: So they're very focused on their wine bar ten ten,
Speaker 2: which is booming right now. I'm so proud of what
Speaker 2: they've created. So the operations really falls on you.
Speaker 1: Oh got it all right? All right? Yeah?
Speaker 2: Girls, okay, exactly.
Speaker 1: Well, thank you so much for feeding me today, diving
Speaker 1: extremely deep. I know I was all up in your business. No,
Speaker 1: it's good though.
Speaker 2: I needed this need. I needed a break, I needed
Speaker 2: a conversation, I needed some nerves moves.
Speaker 1: And when you look back and reflect on it all,
Speaker 1: would you do it all over again?
Speaker 2: Yes, but not in the same way. Not in the
Speaker 2: same way, for sure. Not in the same way. I
Speaker 2: would be more trusting of myself. I would be less
Speaker 2: trusting of other people. I would definitely have gotten a
Speaker 2: prenup because it'spent a lot of time fixing things. So yeah,
Speaker 2: I would absolutely do it again, just in a different way.
Speaker 1: Got it? And that would be the advice you give
Speaker 1: to your younger self.
Speaker 2: Absolutely, girl, get an attorney, Get an attorney, get a
Speaker 2: business coach, get all those you're gonna end up paying
Speaker 2: for it anyways, I don't wanna spend that money. You're
Speaker 2: gonna end up paying for it if you don't do
Speaker 2: it the right way the first time. You're gonna pay
Speaker 2: you in some way down the line.
Speaker 1: But all right, thank you guys for tuning in. Keep
Speaker 1: up with everything, Leah how I'm on social media.
Speaker 2: I'm super active on social media. I'm on Instagram, Leah
Speaker 2: l I A B d I A s on Instagram
Speaker 2: and Facebook li b liah b ds my name.
Speaker 1: On Instagram Facebook.
Speaker 2: No underscores, no underscore, just L I A B my
Speaker 2: middle initial d I A S.
Speaker 1: All Right, you heard it here first, guys, and free
Speaker 1: to reach out to us or her on Instagram.
Speaker 2: There, Thank you, Thank you.
Speaker 1: This was a bye all right, Thanks guys for tuning in.
Speaker 1: Peace out for more eating while broke from iHeartRadio and
Speaker 1: The Black Effect, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your Fabi Rick shows