"When building your network or social following, focus on quality not quantity" - Cameka Smith

In today's conversation, Cameka and I discuss the power of networking and building relationships. She shares why she launched her business, and how she developed a business strategy to monetize her brand and grow her business.

Speaker, trainer and award-winning entrepreneur - these are just a few words that describe Cameka Smith, Founder of The BOSS Network, a community of professional and entrepreneurial women who support each other through conversation, online engagement and event-based networking. Working towards one simple goal, BOSS® is “Bringing Out Successful Sisters” to promote and encourage the small business spirit and professional development of women.

Under Cameka’s leadership, The BOSS Network has become one of the fastest-growing women business communities, garnering several accolades such as a Top 50 Website for Entrepreneurs (Inc. Magazine), 10 Best Career Sites for Women (Forbes.com) and one of 9 Twitter Accounts to Enhance Your College Experience (BlackEnterprise.com). In recognition of her achievements, Cameka was listed in Jet Magazine as a 40 under 40 Entrepreneur, named one of the Top 40 Chicago Game Changers by Ariel Investments, The Network Journal listed her one of their 2016, 40 under 40 Business Leaders, and she was presented with a Rising Brand Star award by the Adweek in 2017.

Connect with Cameka:

• TheBossNetwork.org
• Instagram: @iamcameka @thebossnetwork
• Twitter: @iamcameka @thebossnetwork
• Facebook: /iamcameka /thebossnetwork

Resources Mentioned:

• Dr. Cozette White
• In the Morning: Lyrics of Love and Laughter
• Crucial Conversations by Stephen Covey
• The Tipping Point by Malco
• Build Your Biz Relationships: "7 Steps To Grow Your Professional Network"

A few of the questions I asked Cameka:

• Who are some of the women in your life that you're grateful to have around you and those who have really inspired you?
• What would people who you know today find surprising about you as a teenager growing up in Chicago?
• What did you have to give up to glow up? Did you have to shift your mindset, let go of people?
• What are some of the lessons you've learned about building relationships?
• How important is networking and social media to building and nurturing these relationships and an individual's personal brand?

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Please help us by SHARING this podcast with others. We believe that these inspiring stories are going to move aspiring Black trailblazers to make s

About I Am Black Success®
I Am Black Success® is a podcast featuring conversations with trailblazing Black leaders, entrepreneurs, creators, and changemakers. With 200+ episodes, the show documents Black stories and explores the strategies, lessons, and tools that fuel excellence, leadership, and legacy.

Stay connected:
Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts
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Learn more at iamblacksuccess.com

Every day is black history. Every day, we are writing black history.

As I think about how podcasting has allowed me to have an impact on black history in the making, I wanted to share some of my vibranium with you (Black Panther reference here - if you haven't watched it yet, you better get to a theatre near you right now).

I'm going to share with you, my top 7 tips that will absolutely help you to blaze your trail and write your own black history.

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If you're posting to social, please tag @tbpod and use the hashtag #missionfuel #iamblacksuccess

Please help us by SHARING this podcast with others. We believe that these inspiring stories are going to move aspiring Black trailblazers to make significant changes that have generational impact, both now and well into the future. 

Blazer Nation, join our community at iamblacksuccess.com 

And connect with host Stephen A. Hart on Twitter and LinkedIn.

#BlackExcellence #iAmBlackSuccess #BlackMen #BlackWomen #BlackEntrepreneur #BlackLeader #BlackPodcast

About I Am Black Success®
I Am Black Success® is a podcast featuring conversations with trailblazing Black leaders, entrepreneurs, creators, and changemakers. With 200+ episodes, the show documents Black stories and explores the strategies, lessons, and tools that fuel excellence, leadership, and legacy.

Stay connected:
Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts
Watch full episodes on YouTube
Learn more at iamblacksuccess.com

We celebrate athletes, civil rights leaders and others during Black History Month, but there is often very little conversation about black legacy in business.

Our guest today is Alfred A. Edmond Jr., Senior Vice President and Executive Editor-at-Large of BLACK ENTERPRISE, responsible for providing brand, marketing and content leadership as a member of the multimedia company’s senior management team.

In today's conversation, Alfred and I discuss a few of the black business legends who paved the path for today's generation. Alfred shares their stories, his connection to them and several black business books we should be reading to learn more about these black business icons.

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If you're posting to social, please tag @tbpod and use the hashtag #missionfuel #iamblacksuccess

Please help us by SHARING this podcast with others. We believe that these inspiring stories are going to move aspiring Black trailblazers to make significant changes that have generational impact, both now and well into the future. 

Blazer Nation, join our community at iamblacksuccess.com 

And connect with host Stephen A. Hart on Twitter and LinkedIn.

#BlackExcellence #iAmBlackSuccess #BlackMen #BlackWomen #BlackEntrepreneur #BlackLeader #BlackPodcast

About I Am Black Success®
I Am Black Success® is a podcast featuring conversations with trailblazing Black leaders, entrepreneurs, creators, and changemakers. With 200+ episodes, the show documents Black stories and explores the strategies, lessons, and tools that fuel excellence, leadership, and legacy.

Stay connected:
Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts
Watch full episodes on YouTube
Learn more at iamblacksuccess.com

"If you would stop making it all about money, all the money you want will come."

Known as America's Money Maven, Patrice Washington is a nationally recognized best-selling author, transformational speaker, and a leading authority on personal finance, entrepreneurship and success for women and youth.

Patrice’s wisdom on money matters has been tapped as a recurring voice by national brands such as NBC, FOX News, Black Enterprise, The Huffington Post, Essence Magazine and more. She’s most known as the personal finance voice of the top-rated and nationally syndicated Steve Harvey Morning Radio Show  where she hosts her own weekly segment, Real Money Answers with Patrice Washington. 

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If you're posting to social, please tag @tbpod and use the hashtag #missionfuel #iamblacksuccess

Please help us by SHARING this podcast with others. We believe that these inspiring stories are going to move aspiring Black trailblazers to make significant changes that have generational impact, both now and well into the future. 

Blazer Nation, join our community at iamblacksuccess.com 

And connect with host Stephen A. Hart on Twitter and LinkedIn.

#BlackExcellence #iAmBlackSuccess #BlackMen #BlackWomen #BlackEntrepreneur #BlackLeader #BlackPodcast

About I Am Black Success®
I Am Black Success® is a podcast featuring conversations with trailblazing Black leaders, entrepreneurs, creators, and changemakers. With 200+ episodes, the show documents Black stories and explores the strategies, lessons, and tools that fuel excellence, leadership, and legacy.

Stay connected:
Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts
Watch full episodes on YouTube
Learn more at iamblacksuccess.com

"By 2053... black median families will own zero wealth if current trends continue."

Dr. George C. Fraser is the Chairman and CEO of FraserNet, Inc., a company he founded some 30 years ago, to lead a global networking movement for people of African descent.

He spent 20 years in leadership positions with Procter & Gamble, United Way and Ford Motor Company before starting his own business in 1987.

Dr. Fraser is the author of 6 best-selling books. He has been named as one of the best speakers in America, and President Barack Obama recently awarded Dr. Fraser “The President’s Lifetime Achievement Award”.

Today Dr Fraser and I discussed his love/hate relationship with black history month, and what’s required for us as a community to begin to close the wealth gap between African Americans and other groups.

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If you're posting to social, please tag @tbpod and use the hashtag #missionfuel #iamblacksuccess

Please help us by SHARING this podcast with others. We believe that these inspiring stories are going to move aspiring Black trailblazers to make significant changes that have generational impact, both now and well into the future. 

Blazer Nation, join our community at iamblacksuccess.com 

And connect with host Stephen A. Hart on Twitter and LinkedIn.

#BlackExcellence #iAmBlackSuccess #BlackMen #BlackWomen #BlackEntrepreneur #BlackLeader #BlackPodcast

About I Am Black Success®
I Am Black Success® is a podcast featuring conversations with trailblazing Black leaders, entrepreneurs, creators, and changemakers. With 200+ episodes, the show documents Black stories and explores the strategies, lessons, and tools that fuel excellence, leadership, and legacy.

Stay connected:
Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts
Watch full episodes on YouTube
Learn more at iamblacksuccess.com

Why is legacy wealth important to the black community?

Dr. Pamela Jolly is the Founder and CEO of Torch Enterprises. She's helped 1000s of entrepreneurs, national non-profits, trade organizations, the Federal Government, foundations and financial institutions.

She's a smart and committed woman who's developing data-driven strategies that will help lead us to wealth as a legacy in the African American Community.

In today's conversation, we talked about her meaning of the term legacy wealth and why it is important to the black community. We discuss what needs to happen to shift us from looking at this gratification of the now to a perspective further down the road.  Lastly, she walks us through the steps involved to chart our path toward legacy wealth and ownership.

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If you're posting to social, please tag @tbpod and use the hashtag #missionfuel #iamblacksuccess

Please help us by SHARING this podcast with others. We believe that these inspiring stories are going to move aspiring Black trailblazers to make significant changes that have generational impact, both now and well into the future. 

Blazer Nation, join our community at iamblacksuccess.com 

And connect with host Stephen A. Hart on Twitter and LinkedIn.

#BlackExcellence #iAmBlackSuccess #BlackMen #BlackWomen #BlackEntrepreneur #BlackLeader #BlackPodcast

About I Am Black Success®
I Am Black Success® is a podcast featuring conversations with trailblazing Black leaders, entrepreneurs, creators, and changemakers. With 200+ episodes, the show documents Black stories and explores the strategies, lessons, and tools that fuel excellence, leadership, and legacy.

Stay connected:
Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts
Watch full episodes on YouTube
Learn more at iamblacksuccess.com

An Estate Plan determines how your assets will be dealt with when you die. Do you have one?

Art Steele is an estate planning and intellectual property attorney who has been practicing law for nearly 10 years. She left corporate America to launch her own law firm in 2014 and recently founded ArtSteele.co - an online resource that provides simple legal solutions. 

In this conversation, Art shares why estate planning is for everyone, especially people of color. And you will be moved by Art's explanation on why it's the single most significant factor determining whether our next generation will have a leg up! 

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If you're posting to social, please tag @tbpod and use the hashtag #missionfuel #iamblacksuccess

Please help us by SHARING this podcast with others. We believe that these inspiring stories are going to move aspiring Black trailblazers to make significant changes that have generational impact, both now and well into the future. 

Blazer Nation, join our community at iamblacksuccess.com 

And connect with host Stephen A. Hart on Twitter and LinkedIn.

#BlackExcellence #iAmBlackSuccess #BlackMen #BlackWomen #BlackEntrepreneur #BlackLeader #BlackPodcast

About I Am Black Success®
I Am Black Success® is a podcast featuring conversations with trailblazing Black leaders, entrepreneurs, creators, and changemakers. With 200+ episodes, the show documents Black stories and explores the strategies, lessons, and tools that fuel excellence, leadership, and legacy.

Stay connected:
Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts
Watch full episodes on YouTube
Learn more at iamblacksuccess.com

"Start with the mind. We need to change how we think and feel about money!"

Dr. Cozette M. White is an acclaimed bestselling author, nationally recognized finance and tax strategist, international speaker and philanthropist.

In this conversation, Dr. White shares an exercise we can begin over the next 14-21 days to help us undergo a permanent financial mind shift.

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If you're posting to social, please tag @tbpod and use the hashtag #missionfuel #iamblacksuccess

Please help us by SHARING this podcast with others. We believe that these inspiring stories are going to move aspiring Black trailblazers to make significant changes that have generational impact, both now and well into the future. 

Blazer Nation, join our community at iamblacksuccess.com 

And connect with host Stephen A. Hart on Twitter and LinkedIn.

#BlackExcellence #iAmBlackSuccess #BlackMen #BlackWomen #BlackEntrepreneur #BlackLeader #BlackPodcast

About I Am Black Success®
I Am Black Success® is a podcast featuring conversations with trailblazing Black leaders, entrepreneurs, creators, and changemakers. With 200+ episodes, the show documents Black stories and explores the strategies, lessons, and tools that fuel excellence, leadership, and legacy.

Stay connected:
Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts
Watch full episodes on YouTube
Learn more at iamblacksuccess.com

Of the 525 US Stock Mutual Funds that existed 30 years ago, only 223 are still operating today & only six are run by the same manager. One of those six remaining managers is our guest today, Mr. John Rogers Jr.

John W. Rogers, Jr. is Founder, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Ariel Investments, which is the largest minority lead mutual fund in the country. Headquartered in Chicago, the firm offers six no-load mutual funds for individual investors and defined contribution plans as well as separately managed accounts for institutions and high net worth individuals. Together they manage some $12 billion in assets. 

On this episode we discussed: How John's parents impacted and influenced his goals growing up - How much of John's success in business he credited to his time playing basketball - What's still driving John in the work he's doing with Ariel some 34 years after he started the company - How he balances success and humility - Why John loves leading people - One of his biggest failures - The most important habits or traits that young minority leaders need to develop to become great leaders - the most common financial mistakes we've been making as investors - Stocks that John likes heading into 2018 - How much time John spends each day or week reading and learning and thinking - Books John has read and recommends we read - The One action John thinks we should take right now that will help us on our own journey to blaze our trail

Resources mentioned:

• Video of John Rogers beating Michael Jordan
• Consuelo Mack WealthTrack Interview
• Succeeding Against the Odds by John H. Johnson
• A Random Walk Down Wall Street by Burton G. Malkiel
• The Making of an American Capitalist by Roger Lowenstein
• Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success by Adam Grant

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If you're posting to social, please tag @tbpod and use the hashtag #missionfuel #iamblacksuccess

Please help us by SHARING this podcast with others. We believe that these inspiring stories are going to move aspiring Black trailblazers to make significant changes that have generational impact, both now and well into the future. 

Blazer Nation, join our community at iamblacksuccess.com 

And connect with host Stephen A. Hart on Twitter and LinkedIn.

#BlackExcellence #iAmBlackSuccess #BlackMen #BlackWomen #BlackEntrepreneur #BlackLeader #BlackPodcast

About I Am Black Success®
I Am Black Success® is a podcast featuring conversations with trailblazing Black leaders, entrepreneurs, creators, and changemakers. With 200+ episodes, the show documents Black stories and explores the strategies, lessons, and tools that fuel excellence, leadership, and legacy.

Stay connected:
Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts
Watch full episodes on YouTube
Learn more at iamblacksuccess.com

Today, we celebrate an amazing milestone on the Trailblazers.FM podcast, it's our 100th episode! It's been 100 consecutive Monday mornings, going back to February 1, 2016 that I've been publishing a brand new episode at 5 a.m. In today's conversation, we reflected on these 100 amazing reasons to be inspired, motivated, encouraged, and we are reminded of the mission fuel that's now in the library of past conversations, ready to assist others seeking to rise above and go way beyond in blazing their trails.

In this celebration episode, we talk with my wife Kristin Hart who shared her perspective on this journey, having been involved from long before this podcast was created and seeing what it's accomplished to this point.

We also talked with our most supportive member of the Blazer Nation, our trailblazer Annette Richards, and this episode would not have been complete without our now #1 Most Downloaded Episode guest ever, Mr. Shawn Dove of the Campaign for Black Male Achievement who is also our sponsoring partner. 

Hands down, one of the best episodes we've created for this podcast to date. There are so many nuggets of wisdom packed inside this hour long celebration. To our listeners, our Blazer Nation, none of this happens without you. 

If you decided not to download these episodes, we would not be here celebrate 100 episodes, so THANK YOU. And for all our past featured guests of Trailblazers.FM, I extend my truest HART-felt thank you! Your stories are what have helped to shape the fabric of this amazing platform and inspire men and women in more than 108 countries around the world.

Recommended Reading:

• Matthew 9:36
•  
• Jeremiah 29:11

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If you're posting to social, please tag @tbpod and use the hashtag #missionfuel #iamblacksuccess

Please help us by SHARING this podcast with others. We believe that these inspiring stories are going to move aspiring Black trailblazers to make significant changes that have generational impact, both now and well into the future. 

Blazer Nation, join our community at iamblacksuccess.com 

And connect with host Stephen A. Hart on Twitter and LinkedIn.

#BlackExcellence #iAmBlackSuccess #BlackMen #BlackWomen #BlackEntrepreneur #BlackLeader #BlackPodcast

About I Am Black Success®
I Am Black Success® is a podcast featuring conversations with trailblazing Black leaders, entrepreneurs, creators, and changemakers. With 200+ episodes, the show documents Black stories and explores the strategies, lessons, and tools that fuel excellence, leadership, and legacy.

Stay connected:
Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts
Watch full episodes on YouTube
Learn more at iamblacksuccess.com