Give It To The People Podcast

La-Tasha Best-Gaddy welcomes Keshem Latif Holland, founder of Financial Boss and owner of Boss Up Focus and Clarity Solutions, to the Give It To The People Podcast. Keshem shares how Financial Boss provides financial literacy education for children and adults, while Boss Up Focus and Clarity Solutions helps clients explore more advanced financial strategies.

He also introduces the Wealth Alignment Lab, a two-and-a-half-hour intensive designed to help participants understand their finances, improve money management, and make more intentional financial decisions.

Throughout the conversation, Keshem emphasizes that financial well-being must be treated as a priority, not an afterthought. He also explains how stronger personal finances can create a ripple effect that benefits families, businesses, and entire communities.

As a Give It Get It Business Member, Keshem highlights how networking through the membership has created valuable relationships, resources, and business connections. This episode is for anyone ready to gain financial clarity, align their money with their goals, and build wealth with greater confidence. 

Give It Get It Business Member Dinasti Meltz, founder of Stay Known Systems, joins La-Tasha Best-Gaddy to discuss how personalized business automation helps service-based entrepreneurs reconnect with past clients, strengthen customer relationships, and generate repeat business.

Dinasti explains how Stay Known Systems uses strategic text messaging and timely follow-ups to help businesses remain visible without losing the personal touch clients value. She also shares her entrepreneurial journey, the role prayer plays in her decision-making, and the realities of building a business, from time demands to the importance of networking and continuous learning.

Driven by her passion for helping entrepreneurs improve their client-retention systems, Dynasty offers multiple service plans designed to meet businesses at different stages of growth. This Give It Get It Business Membership spotlight shows how the right automation can help business owners follow up consistently, save time, and stay known.

Give It Get It Business Member Natasha Wilson, founder of Dream City Body Works, formerly Dream City Wellness Studio, joins La-Tasha Best-Gaddy for a conversation recorded at the Raleigh Black Chamber event.

Natasha discusses growing her company from a traditional wellness studio into a holistic medical practice specializing in post-injury recovery, post-surgery care, bodywork, and whole-person wellness. Her approach connects mental health, spiritual well-being, and physical healing to help clients recover more fully.

She also shares the personal story behind the Dream City brand. Inspired by the loss of her daughter, Natasha turned grief into purpose and built a business rooted in healing, restoration, and meaningful community impact.

As an entrepreneur, Natasha understands that business growth should not come at the expense of personal wellness. She explains how dividing her time between the United States and Mexico helps her prevent burnout, maintain client relationships, schedule business meetings, and prioritize self-care.

This Give It Get It Business Membership spotlight celebrates a member who is building with purpose, evolving with intention, and demonstrating what it means to #BeInTheEcosystem.

What happens when the owner of a successful business is ready to retire, but has no plan for what comes next?Across the country, millions of profitable businesses are facing a succession crisis.

As Baby Boomer business owners approach retirement, communities risk losing jobs, local wealth, and legacy businesses that have served as economic anchors for decades.In this episode, we explore how employee ownership is emerging as a powerful solution. Through Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) and Employee Ownership Trusts (EOTs), business owners can transition ownership to employees while preserving jobs, protecting company culture, and keeping wealth rooted in local communities.

We also discuss the upcoming NC Employee Ownership Conference and why business owners, advisors, economic developers, municipalities, and community leaders should be paying attention.Whether you're planning your own business succession, advising clients, or simply care about the future of Main Street, this episode offers practical insights into one of the most important economic conversations of our time.Key topics include:
• The "Silver Tsunami" of retiring business owners
• ESOPs and how they work
• Employee Ownership Trusts (EOTs)
• Succession planning strategies
• Preserving business legacy
• Community wealth building
• Local economic resilience
• The future of employee ownership in North Carolina

This episode includes AI-generated content.

Get into this exciting episode that exudes confidence and awareness for women and those looking to challenge themselves to grow.

Chisa Pennix-Brown Chief Experience Cultivator at Give It To the People sat down withAmanda Gustafson of  Amanda Gustafson Consulting on an episode of the Give It Get It Bizness Series. 

Amanda is all about freedom- intellectual, financial and time. She helps business owners with small teams take consistent unplugged vacations. Amanda's own path to freedom started with reading "Your Money or You Life" in her 20's. She earned a Master’s in Counseling, and became a Dean and internal consultant within higher education.

She found entrepreneurial success in building a real estate portfolio. Amanda wanted to support other business owners, so when she discovered Clockwork, which is a proven method to create freedom with operational coaching, she went all in. Now she helps business owners with small teams streamline processes, build delegation skills and focus their teams so that they can have financial and time freedom.

Chisa Pennix-Brown Chief Experience Cultivator at Give It To the People sat down with Ja'Net Adams of EMACK Consulting on an episode of the Give It Get It Bizness Series. 

Ja’Net is an International Financial Literacy Speaker, Author, Consultant, and CEO of EMACK Consulting LLC. Ja'Net's path to entrepreneurship started after she was laid off from her job and found herself in $50,000 of debt. She paid that debt off in two years and that led her to speaking around the world sharing her strategies. She has spoken on stages across the United States as well as in Canada, Europe, United Arab Emirates, and South Africa.

Her company has worked with K-12, higher education (minority and non minority serving institutions), Corporations, government entities, public and private sector to provide financial literacy workshops, training, curriculum, products, and consulting. Past and current clients are the NBA, Allstate, New York Times, Federal Reserve, Department of Education, White House, Dress For Success, Urban League, Ice Miller Law, TTEC Technology, Truist Bank, NC A&T University, Temple University, Winston Salem State University, University of Central Florida, and Upward Bound.

Ja'Net's advice has been featured in Business Insider, Forbes, CNBC, Good Morning America, NPR, BBC, Fox Business, Black Enterprise, USA Today, Huffington Post, and Marketplace Money.

Preparing for Tomorrow's Success: Inside the Durham Business Evolution Summit + EXPO

Join us for a special episode as we delve into the highly anticipated Durham Business Evolution Summit + EXPO, taking place on Tuesday, May 6th! This innovative event, presented by the Office of Economic & Workforce Development, is designed to help businesses of all sizes prepare for a prosperous tomorrow.

In this episode, we'll explore the key themes and opportunities that attendees will experience at the Summit. Discover how this event aims to equip entrepreneurs and business leaders with the latest trends and strategies to thrive in today's dynamic market. We'll highlight the insightful sessions covering crucial areas such as Artificial Intelligence, Supply Chain, Export/Import, Marketing/Branding, Human Resources/Workforce Development, and Access to Capital**. Learn what valuable knowledge attendees can gain from industry leaders and experts to drive growth and innovation in their businesses.

Beyond the sessions, the Summit also offers a chance to explore cutting-edge products and services from leading industry providers. We'll discuss the potential for discovering the latest tools, technologies, and solutions to elevate your business.

Don't miss out on the buzz surrounding the special Networking Event from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM, a fantastic opportunity to connect with fellow entrepreneurs, industry experts, and business leaders in a collaborative environment.

Registration for the Durham Business Evolution Summit + EXPO can be found at www.giveittothepeople.com.

JaLisha is Thread Capital’s director of lending and client support. She leads Thread Capital’s loan origination, coaching, connections, and customer service efforts, with the goal of executing Thread Capital’s mission of strengthening entrepreneurship and expanding access to capital for small businesses in North Carolina. She is a Durham native and enjoys filling unclaimed time with traveling, pretending to exercise on social media, and binge-watching TV with Garrett and two dogs, Jim Bean and Dacarius.

Darlene works as a Business Solutions Officer for the Carolina Small Business Development fund, a community development financial institution (CDFI) providing technical assistance and funding to small businesses across the state. Prior to joining CSBDF, her career has included working with Self-Help and the NC Rural Economic Development Center, also CDFIs within NC.

With a penchant for small business Darlene pursued her own entrepreneurial dream by owning and operating an Edible Arrangements franchise for 12 years with locations in the Durham and Raleigh markets. Prior to joining CSBDF, she served as an Adjunct Professor with Durham Technical Community College and North Carolina Central University.

Darlene has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Economics from SUNY Old Westbury, and as a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship recipient, Darlene obtained a Master of Science Degree in Urban Policy Analysis and Management from the New School of Social Research in New York. She is currently a doctoral student at UNC Charlotte - Belk School of Business where she is pursuing a degree in business administration. Her research interests include exploring the resiliency of women-led organizations in the wake of the digital age.