Badass Basic Bitch

Lover of all things beauty, style, food, and a self-proclaimed pro at finding the silver lining. I believe that life is a gift and it's important to treasure the little things and find beauty in the day-to-day, no matter how messy it gets. My hope for this site is that you leave feeling inspired and uplifted, with plenty of tips and tricks in your back pocket.
Courtney Shields started as a content creator, who just loved giving back to her friends and community in the beauty space. Eight years after launching her first blog post, Courtney launched two businesses: Bow and Brooklyn - a Jewelry company -  and Dibbs - a Beauty company. 
During the Baddie B Conference, Courtney was interviewed by Badass Basic Bitch Host, Brianna Dunbar, as they discussed Courtney's transition from Content Creator to Business Owner. Listen in to the lessons learned, her first-ever launch of Bow and Brooklyn, and what's in store next!

Listen to celebrate the black women's voices on Badass Basic Bitch poscast. 
In this episode we have:

• Growing through what you go through with Jas Boothe
• Listening to your gut about your needs with Taneshia Johnson
• Building a strong partnership with Natasha Wilson
• Finding people who see your worth and shine that light back on you with Briona Jenkins
• It's all about grit and taking chances with Mary Lou Davis

Erin is a wife and mom of two babes. She lives and loves in Denver, CO. As a licensed professional counselor, she runs Erin Levin Counseling, a private practice dedicated to supporting women as they work to become pregnant, during pregnancy and after bringing baby home. Erin is a hypothyroid managing, 2-time c-section, NICU graduating, toddler wrangling, working mom on a mission to help support the empowerment of motherhood. She has been working as a counselor in Colorado since completing her Master's Degree in Counseling in 2011.  Erin is a Licensed Professional Counselor and has focused her work on the complicated and intense dynamics around life transitions (a birth, a death, a breakup, a new job, a big move), female reproductive health, and creating a community of wellness. In today's episode, we talk all about the 4th trimester. 

Emily Killeen is a sobriety coach, spiritual yoga teacher and transformational retreat facilitator. She believes that connection, community, and accountability along with SOME sort of spirituality and health and wellness are essential for sobriety success.
After 15 years of bouncing in and out of recovery, she’s finally found so much freedom, abundance, and joy in sobriety and is on a mission to help others discover their own path to recovery to experience the gifts of living an amazing sober life.
Emily created Recovery Revival which is a 3 Month Sobriety Group Coaching Journey for women and also hosts a FREE Sober Girls Book Club on Tuesday nights which is open to the public and held on ZOOM of course. In addition, she and her husband opened an off-grid, alcohol-free wedding venue & retreat facility called Ananda Retreat. 

Clare Cui is an international sales expert, trainer, and speaker who has led multi seven-figure sales teams to close over $9 million in high ticket sales ($4 million during 2020 alone!) And today we’re going to be talking about up-leveling your own sales and finally start charging what you’re worth without being salesy. Stop trading your time for money. Listen in to learn how value yourself, create service packages vs hourly time and more.

Jas Boothe is a Chicago Native, Disabled Army Veteran, Cancer Survivor, and Speaker who gave over 17 years of service to this great nation.
 
She deployed during the Operation Iraq Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom campaigns. Her entire military career was dedicated to working with and advocating for Soldiers and their family members.
 
In 2005, she was a single parent in the Army Reserves living in New Orleans. That spring, she learned she would soon be deploying to Iraq. During her mobilization, Boothe's life was torn apart by two significant events. In August of that year, she lost everything she owned due to Hurricane Katrina. She tried to shift her focus to her platoon that counted on her for leadership through the deployment. However, in September, she received a devastating diagnosis of aggressive head, neck, and throat cancer and could not deploy.
 
Boothe's options were limited and posed some tough choices for her. Because of her illness, she was facing discharge from the military. But she needed complex full-time medical care, a job, and a place to live with her young son. When searching for assistance, she found there were no existing programs for female Veterans with children. Her military told her to explore welfare and social services as an option, just like every other single mother. Jas then realized that America had forgotten about the women who have served, fought, bled, and died alongside their male counterparts. She found these options unacceptable for a woman who had honorably served her country. After extensive cancer treatment, including radiation therapy that would leave life-long side effects, she was able to stay in the Reserves and immediately began looking for full-time employment and a place for her and her son to live.
 
In 2006, she relocated to Missouri with her aunt, where she had subsequently accepted a job offer from the Army National Guard. Later in the year, she received an opportunity to return to full-time duty in Washington, DC.; nonetheless, Boothe never forgot what she and her son had been through. She became determined to ensure her fellow sister Veterans had a resource in their time of need.
 
Jas founded Final Salute Inc in November 2010 as part of her commitment to "Never Leave a Fallen Comrade."

Final Salute Inc has assisted over 7000 women Veterans and children in over 30 States and Territories.
 
Boothe holds a BA in Mass Communications from Mississippi Valley State University and dual MAs in Human Resource Management and Management and Leadership from Webster University.

Jas also features in the 2017 documentary "Served Like a Girl" (http://servedlikeagirl.com/), produced by Lysa Heslov, which follows several American women wounded in action transitioning from soldier to civilian after serving their country in Iraq and Afghanistan.
 
Boothe is the mother of two wonderful boys, Brandon (currently serving in the United States Air Force) and Jammel Jr., and wife to a Marine Combat Veteran, Jammel R. Boothe Sr.
 
 
Jas has received the following awards for her leadership and community impact:
Oprah Winfrey and Toyota Standing Ovation

US Army Chief of Staff Outstanding Civilian Service Award

People Magazine Hero Among Us

CNN Hero

America Red Cross Tiffany Circle - Distinguished Woman Warrior Award

Redbook Magazine - We Learn From Her

Department of Defense Spirit of Hope Award

American Veteran's Center - Lillian K. Keil Award for Women's Contributions to the Military

Unstoppable Mom - Live with Kelly and Michael

All You Magazine - Be Inspired

YWCA Woman of Distinction

Marie Claire Magazine - America's Forgotten Heroes

Video of the Year (Served Like a Girl) - Stevie Awards for Women in Business

Influe

I wasn't going to have an episode this week because it's the holiday. But I got so many messages regarding family experiences, not wanting to go back to work, guilt on over-gifting children, and more. I sat down and took all your questions, and created a solo episode. I hope you like it! And, I hope it helps. 

Ania, a spunky 28-year old that survived a traumatic spinal cord injury and didn’t let it define her, and doesn’t continue to. Pushed herself to overcome so much and is now an upcoming influencer from her area, does her best to help advocate for those who are wheelchair users, and enjoys traveling the world any chance she gets. Looks forward to what the future holds and hopes to put a smile on any ones face she meets! 

Whitney Wofford is the director of marketing for CrowdHealth, a healthcare technology startup based in Austin, Texas. She has previously worked for Nike and GSD&M, with focuses on digital branding and consumer strategy.
If you're running your own business, chances are you either are already or will need to do some marketing. It's a great big world, and getting noticed when almost every market is saturated is becoming increasingly more difficult.

Here are our top marketing takeaways:
1. Understand your customer
2. Engage on Social 
3. Explore SEO
4. Be Clear
5. Look for the white space
6. Be consistent 

However you choose to engage, the number one rule is to not get discouraged if your campaign is not an overnight success. The general rule of thumb is to give it six months to take root, so keep chipping away to see the rewards for your hard work.

Natasha Wilson and Vanessa Halls are the faces behind ATX Food Chronicles. Two friends who wanted to bring authenticity to the Austin food scene. 

Natasha Wilson is half Haitian and American and grew up in the small town of Florence, Texas. While Vanessa Halls is half Costa Rican, one-eighth Irish, German, and Dutch and grew up in Katy, Texas. Both women attended the University of Texas at San Antonio and received Bachelors's in Marketing. They’ve both lived in Texas for over ten years and have loved living in a city that caters to their love of food and drinks. Their Instagram is proof of their passion. Each picture is a love letter to the culinary world! 

Not only does this friend duo bring great content, but their partnership also shows us that we can find great business partners too. Listen in and hear lessons and tips on how to find the best business partner for you and your company.