Business of the Beat

How do you turn a lifetime of creativity into a business that reflects who you are?

Jazz Smollett returns to Business of the Beat for part two of her conversation with Kendra Bracken-Ferguson, tracing her journey from working behind the scenes to co-hosting and executive producing Living by Design and building her lifestyle brand, Dreaming of Juniper.

Jazz shares how an internship in theater, early production jobs, and mentorship from women in entertainment helped her develop her skills.

She recalls creating a cooking show with her brother Jake for Los Angeles city buses, the path to Smollett Eats on Food Network, and how a cookbook appearance opened an unexpected door to Living by Design.

The conversation then moves into the realities of becoming a product founder. From testing candles and developing a massage oil candle to launching a room spray and bringing products to Amazon, Jazz discusses learning financial discipline, accessing small-business resources, and building relationships with customers.

She also reflects on discovering her ability to connect creative vision with the financial and operational demands of a business.

Kendra and Jazz close with the possibilities ahead: deeper community connections, shared experiences, and a lifestyle brand rooted in the ways we eat, gather, travel, and make ourselves at home.

Explore Dreaming of Juniper and subscribe to Jazz’s newsletter, On a Random Thursday.

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What we grow up creating can shape everything we build next.

In part one of this conversation on Business of the Beat, Kendra Bracken-Ferguson welcomes her longtime friend, creative collaborator, and business partner Jazz Smollett to explore the experiences behind her work as a designer, producer, television personality, and founder.

The second of six siblings, Jazz shares stories of cross-country moves, family celebrations, and a mother who built furniture, sewed clothes, and taught her children to create what they needed.

From homemade meals to the family table that anchored each new home, Jazz reflects on how resourcefulness and intentional togetherness shaped her approach to life.

She also traces her path from childhood modeling and acting to studying theater at NYU, with experiences in Cape Town and Amsterdam expanding her understanding of art, identity, and storytelling.

Along the way, she discusses finding confidence in her own education and recognizing the value of the Black writers and stories that informed her upbringing.

It’s a personal conversation about family, friendship, and creating spaces where people feel seen. In part two, Jazz shares how those foundations became a career in television and a growing lifestyle brand.

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What makes a business stand out in a crowded market? For Danni Fernino, it starts with the person behind the brand.

On this episode of **Business of the Beat**, Kendra Bracken-Ferguson welcomes the entrepreneur and business owner behind **Visions from Neptune** for a candid conversation about building beauty and wellness brands, choosing the right partners, and recognizing what drives a founder beyond their original idea.

Danni shares how growing up in a family of entrepreneurs shaped her independent spirit—and how the challenges of COVID shifted her focus toward helping small businesses thrive. She explains why a founder’s motivation, willingness to adapt, and commitment to the work are central to the partnerships she pursues.

Kendra and Danni also explore the hard conversations that come with growth. From helping founders loosen their grip to making decisions that serve the company and the families it supports, Danni introduces her approach to “heart posture”: leading with care while being honest about what needs to change.

The conversation connects creative vision with execution, including branding, messaging, design, and the relationships that bring a portfolio of businesses together. Stay for a lively rapid-fire round covering founder red flags, customer retention, trusting your gut, and the “inborn magic” Danni looks for in an entrepreneur.

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Kendra Bracken-Ferguson welcomes Debbi Thomas, mindfulness coach and founder of Haven Inspired, for a conversation about self-awareness, challenging limiting beliefs, and making room for personal growth.

Debbi shares her journey from recruiting—including helping others recognize their strengths at Meta—to creating meditation content that speaks directly to Black women.

Now pursuing her master’s in counseling at Northwestern University, she reflects on how stepping into a new chapter has challenged old stories about her own capabilities.

Together, Kendra and Debbi explore mindfulness beyond meditation: recognizing what you need, noticing how stress shows up in your body, and giving yourself permission to ask for help. They discuss journaling, faith, self-compassion, and the discomfort that can accompany meaningful change—especially when you’re balancing entrepreneurship, family, and your own well-being.

Debbi also shares the meaning behind HAVEN: Healthy, Authentic, Vibrant, Empathetic, and Nourished.

At the heart of her approach is a reminder that healing begins with being honest with yourself.

Sometimes, the next step toward growth starts with acknowledging that you’re overwhelmed and allowing someone to support you.

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In this full-circle episode of Business of the Beat, host Kendra Bracken-Ferguson welcomes back Dr. Omonye Phillips, founder of OmoSilk. When Omonye first appeared on the podcast in 2023, she was balancing motherhood, marriage, a major corporate leadership role, and a growing business inspired by her children’s sensitive-skin needs.

Today, she has left corporate America, stepped into entrepreneurship full time, and expanded OmoSilk’s retail footprint to Target.com.

Omonye shares what it took to bet on herself, the importance of having a supportive partner and trusted community, and why prayer, exercise, and daily routines keep her grounded through the unpredictable realities of entrepreneurship.

She also discusses bootstrapping the company, managing inventory, protecting product innovation, and maintaining OmoSilk’s commitment to premium 100% mulberry silk.

From patent-pending bonnet technology and silk wig caps to products supporting people experiencing alopecia, cancer treatment, and sensitive skin, Omonye’s journey demonstrates what can happen when purpose, consistency, and thoughtful innovation come together.

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In this episode of Business of the Beat, host Kendra Bracken-Ferguson sits down with executive, investor and author Fred Collins for an honest conversation inspired by his new book, Enough: The Journey from Approval Seeking to Authenticity.

Fred reflects on how childhood insecurities shaped his pursuit of recognition, corporate success and financial achievement—and the personal cost of constantly chasing more. He shares how the absence and early loss of his father left him searching for validation through promotions, titles and the approval of others, even after he had built an accomplished career.

The conversation explores Fred’s transition from leading major global brands to advising emerging founders, particularly women and founders of color. He discusses the differences between corporate resources and entrepreneurial realities, the importance of understanding your strengths and limitations, and why supporting the founder’s vision no longer requires him to be the person receiving the recognition.

Fred and Kendra also examine authentic leadership, accountability, vulnerability and the sacrifices families make when professional ambition becomes all-consuming.

Through lessons from his own career, Fred challenges listeners to stop defining themselves through titles, money or other people’s expectations—and begin building lives rooted in purpose, honesty and self-acceptance.

Because being enough does not mean the work is finished. It means you no longer need achievement to prove your worth.

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What happens when you stop allowing other people—and your own invisible barriers—to define what is possible for your life?

In this episode of Business of the Beat, host Kendra Bracken-Ferguson sits down with Tracy-Ann Palmer—also known as TAP the Warrior—a modern Renaissance woman whose journey spans corporate leadership, entrepreneurship, transformational coaching, authorship, and music.

Tracy-Ann shares how growing up amid war in Zimbabwe, immigrating to South Africa, surviving domestic violence, and watching her mother battle Alzheimer’s shaped her determination to live fully and help others reach their potential.

She also explores the connection between business and creativity, why money represents freedom, and how music became both a source of healing and a way to help others feel seen.

The conversation examines authentic leadership, work-life integration, emotional intelligence, community, and the courage required to remove the mask and become who you were meant to be. Tracy-Ann also introduces the African principles of Sawubona—“I see you”—and Ubuntu—“I am because we are”—as reminders that transformation and success are never achieved alone.

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In this episode of Business of the Beat, host Kendra Bracken-Ferguson sits down with Aditi Sharma, co-founder and COO of QOAT, to explore her full-circle journey from growing up in her mother’s salon to building an entirely new category in professional hair care.

Aditi shares how her original plans for law school unexpectedly led her to L’Oréal, where mentors gave her the business education and confidence that helped shape her career.

After leaving corporate beauty, she founded EGAD Talent, representing hairstylists and helping creative talent translate their influence into valuable brand partnerships.

That work eventually reunited her with longtime collaborator Alfredo Lewis and inspired them to create QOAT—the professional hair-color topcoat designed to help stylists protect their work and clients preserve their investment.

The conversation explores the difference between having a great idea and building a commercially viable company, the years of development behind a category-defining product, bootstrapping a startup, building with the right co-founder, and why the unglamorous foundations of operations, finance, distribution, and cash-flow management determine whether an innovative product ever reaches the shelf.

Aditi also reflects on releasing the pressure of the “shoulds,” recognizing that ease does not mean a path is wrong, and using yoga, self-awareness, and the principle of impermanence to remain grounded while building at startup speed.

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In this episode of Business of the Beat, host Kendra Bracken-Ferguson sits down with Tasha Turner, founder of Wrapped Beauty, to explore a career shaped by beauty, culture, creativity, and a deep understanding of the needs of women of color.

Tasha takes us through her journey in the beauty industry, from working at prestigious magazines and witnessing the evolution of beauty standards to recognizing the influence and resilience of women of color in defining what beauty looks like. She and Kendra discuss how beauty and wellness have increasingly intersected—and why understanding the consumer means understanding the full experience of how she lives, feels, and cares for herself.

That experience ultimately led Tasha from telling beauty stories to creating beauty solutions.

She shares the story behind Wrapped Beauty and her move into product development, including the process of designing an innovative shower cap specifically with textured hair in mind. From protecting hair against water and humidity to testing, refining, and rethinking a product until it truly solves a problem, Tasha offers an inside look at what it takes to turn an idea into something consumers actually need.

The conversation also explores authenticity, innovation, entrepreneurship, and the courage to keep creating. For Tasha, building Wrapped Beauty has been more than launching a brand—it has been about trusting her experience, embracing the iterative process, and discovering a new sense of freedom in entrepreneurship.

🎧 Listen to Business of the Beat and hear how Tasha Turner turned years of beauty expertise into a brand designed to solve real problems for textured hair.

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In this episode of Business of the Beat, host Kendra Bracken-Ferguson sits down with Malinda Sanna, founder and CEO of LookLook, a consumer insights platform specializing in luxury market research.

Malinda shares her unconventional journey from studying classical music and literature to entrepreneurship and building LookLook without outside venture funding.

She and Kendra explore how curiosity, community, and genuine human relationships helped shape the business—and why treating research participants as valued members of a community rather than simply data points has become central to LookLook’s approach.

Malinda also gets candid about the realities behind entrepreneurship.

After experiencing rapid growth during the COVID-19 pandemic, she faced the difficult challenge of downsizing as the market shifted. She reflects on what that experience taught her about leadership, resilience, and knowing when growth isn’t necessarily the only measure of success.

The conversation also looks toward the future of consumer insights, including AI’s growing role in market research, the importance of preserving authenticity in an increasingly technology-driven world, and the changing nature of influence as consumers place greater trust in peers and communities rather than traditional celebrity endorsements.

And behind all the business strategy is an equally important conversation about the entrepreneur herself. Melinda shares how self-awareness, wellness practices, and creating space outside of work help her navigate the demands of leadership without losing herself in the process.

It’s a conversation about building differently, adapting when the market changes, and remembering that even in an age of AI and data, business is still fundamentally about people.

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