What’s good fam? Wah gwan? How tings? How ya’ll doing? 

Listen, this episode is being published on February 1 2023 and today marks the 7th anniversary since we launched the Trailblazers.FM podcast. 

That’s right ... it’s our 7th birthday as a podcast and community... I’m so incredibly grateful as I reflect on all the amazing accomplishments we’ve achieved and also the challenges we’ve endured to get here.

Today also marks the official reboot of the show and the beginning of #BlackHistoryMonth 2023 in the US.

This is the 1st part of a 3-part Reboot mini series. All three episodes are live right now (episodes 228-230).*

In today's episode (Reboot Pt 1) I also share that: 

• We’ve got an all new title for this podcast
• And we’ve got an entirely new website that you should absolutely go check out... it’s iamblacksuccess.com  

There’s some additional goodies in today's episode about me, a summary of the show’s origin story, and some of where we're going from here. 

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If you’ve missed the podcast, and you’re happy we’re back I’ll ask you to 

Follow us: 

Instagram: Trailblazers.FM

LinkedIn: Stephen A. Hart

Twitter: Trailblazers.FM, Stephen A. Hart

Leave us a rating and review

Please leave us a 5-star rating and review if you’d not yet done so on Apple Podcasts and/or Spotify

Partner with us

We’re also exploring new partners and sponsors. If you’re interested in possibly working with us, please shoot me an email to [email protected]

It’s New Year’s Day and a dear friend of the podcast, Mignon Francois, opens up the year for Trailblazers.FM with this bold statement and challenge to each and everyone of YOU in our BlazerNation community:

Throw The Whole Resolution Away... 😮

Say what?? Listen, you DO NOT want to miss out on the most inspiring 21-minutes that will help you get your year off on the right footing and position your mind, your actions and the results you'll achieve over the next 365-days of this year!

Our featured guest today is Mignon Francois.

Mignon Francois is the Founder and CEO of The Cupcake Collection (TCC). 

Using her “Follow Your Spirit” approach, Mignon developed an iconic flavor that drew lines and attention to the hip nature of her Historic Germantown neighborhood that hadn’t seen this concept developed prior. The success of TCC thereby became icing on the cake amongst the existing North Nashville restaurateurs that would ignite a new movement to the area for other business concepts that might not otherwise have considered doing business in North Nashville.

Since planting its roots in 2008, Mignon’s business savvy has earned her the titles of “Woman of Legend and Merit” by Tennessee State University, “Emerging Business Leader of the Year” and Black Enterprise Magazine “Family Business of the Year Award”.

Learn more about the Cupcake Collection.

Check out our all-new web portal

For a limited time, you can sign up to access our new web portal for FREE at iamblacksuccess.com  There you’ll find great content on successful Black women and men in entrepreneurship, leadership and business. 

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If you’ve missed the podcast, and you’re happy we’re back I’ll ask you to 

Follow us: 

Instagram: Trailblazers.FM, Mignon Francois

LinkedIn: Stephen A. Hart, Mignon Francois

Twitter: Trailblazers.FM, Mignon Francois, Stephen A. Hart

Leave us a rating and review

Please leave us a 5-star rating and review if you’d not yet done so on Apple Podcasts and/or Spotify

Partner with us

We’re also exploring new partners and sponsors. If you’re interested in possibly working with us, please shoot me an email to [email protected]

"God will make us strong, before he makes us happy!"

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

Blazer Nation, join our community at iamblacksuccess.com 

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

#BlackExcellence #BlackSuccess #BlackMen #BlackWomen #BlackEntrepreneur #BlackLeader #BlackPodcast

How do you build, grow and scale your black-owned business? 

Today’s guest is Samia Gore. 

Samia Gore is the first Black female founder of Body Complete Rx, who’s been able to break significant ground in the male-dominated, nutritional supplement industry. She’s since gone on to generate over $10m in the past 4 years in her business.

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

Blazer Nation, join our community at iamblacksuccess.com 

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

#BlackExcellence #BlackSuccess #BlackMen #BlackWomen #BlackEntrepreneur #BlackLeader #BlackPodcast

There is a past version of you that is so proud of how far you have come!

I recently shared an emotional memory of a place, a valley I was in back in December 2013, that I wanted to never go back to again. Thank God, I’ve never been back there. And that Stephen from December 15, 2013 is soooo very proud of where I am today.

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Now that brings me to the point I wanted to make today and it’s this ...

DO NOT QUIT on you because GREAT THINGS TAKE TIME!

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

Blazer Nation, join our community at iamblacksuccess.com 

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

#BlackExcellence #BlackSuccess #BlackMen #BlackWomen #BlackEntrepreneur #BlackLeader #BlackPodcast

Our episode guest is Stephen Powell, the chief programs and partnerships officer of the National CARES Mentoring Movement, founded by Essence Magazine’s Editor-in-Chief Emeritus Susan L. Taylor; he leads and oversees the organization’s affiliate network, program expansion, partnership development, training, and technical assistance efforts.

 Some of Stephen’s most notable honors include GQ Magazine’s Movado Leader Award; Black Enterprise Magazine’s 100 Modern Men of Distinction; and an Obama administration White House “Champion of Change Following in the Footsteps of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.”

 Stephen is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, Fraternity, Inc. and serves on the Chicago Beyond Trauma Advisory Council, and is also a board member of Cinnamon Girl, Inc and Nth Dimensions, Inc. Stephen is an alum of the Institute for Non-profit Management program at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business and Howard University. He was raised in East Orange, NJ and currently resides in Montclair with his wife, Marlaina and two daughters, Sinclair Adina (14) and Simone Alexandra (10).

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Shawn Dove is a speaker, author, and advocate for leaders who want to improve the lives of young people, particularly Black men and boys. He is the co-author of the upcoming book: I Too Am America. You can learn more about Shawn at dovesoars.com and connect with him on twitter @dovesoars

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Stephen A. Hart is a marketer, podcaster, content creator, brand strategist, speaker, entrepreneur, husband and #bestdadever. You can learn more about Stephen at stephenahart.com and connect on Twitter @stephenahart

More about:

National CARES Mentoring Movement: caresmentoring.org

Stephen A. Hart: https://stephenahart.com/

Shawn Dove: https://dovesoars.com/

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

Blazer Nation, join our community at iamblacksuccess.com 

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

#BlackExcellence #BlackSuccess #BlackMen #BlackWomen #BlackEntrepreneur #BlackLeader #BlackPodcast

Life has a way of throwing you and I some tough blows during different seasons of our lives. Whether you and I must endure a day, a week or a year of hardships, the challenge is to continue to put yourself out there (like it or not), continue to get up and show up anyway. If you’re unclear about how to lead during your present or next season of uncertainty, you should join this conversation.

Our guest today is Kandia Johnson, Founder of Kandid Conversations Global, a leadership training and coaching program to help workplace and entrepreneurial leaders tackle self-doubt, and unleash their hidden potential.

She also launched She Deserves More, a career confidence and visibility program for mid-career women looking to position, pitch, and promote themselves as leaders--be it at work, in business, or within their communities.

Learn more about:

Kandia Johnson: https://kandiajohnson.com 

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

Blazer Nation, join our community at iamblacksuccess.com 

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

#BlackExcellence #BlackSuccess #BlackMen #BlackWomen #BlackEntrepreneur #BlackLeader #BlackPodcast

As our 5th anniversary as a podcast approached on February 1st 2021, I made a decision to not quit on Trailblazers.FM, but instead I decided to shift. I shifted and committed to producing weekly video live streams and then it became 2-3x a week that I was streaming.

In many ways though, my soul ached. I stopped the podcast that was going for 5 years, and at it’s peak, reaching some 15-20,000 downloads a month.

But I made a commitment in that dark valley, that I was going to set my pride aside and I was going to embrace being bad, until it got good for me with live stream videos.

Today’s the first published episode in exactly one year. If you’ve missed the podcast, and you’re happy we’re back I’ll ask you to help me by doing one or all of these things:

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

Blazer Nation, join our community at iamblacksuccess.com 

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

#BlackExcellence #BlackSuccess #BlackMen #BlackWomen #BlackEntrepreneur #BlackLeader #BlackPodcast

All anyone has to do is say the year and it can elicit an emotion. In a few words, this year has been everything from unpredictable, to traumatic, scary, exhausting and bizarre. But, there have been moments of joy as well, despite the pain.

For those who are hurting, who need the hope that an opportunity to start over provides, debut author Zim Flores has some thoughts. Flores’ new book, Dare to Bloom: Trusting God Through Painful Endings and New Beginnings (Dec. 8, 2020, Thomas Nelson Gift Books), shows people how to find hope and discover opportunity, even when circumstances and endings are hard and uncertain.

OUR FEATURED GUEST: ZIM FLORES

Named a leader using her voice and talent to elevate humanity by Oprah Winfrey, Zim Flores (née Ugochukwu) is the founder of Italicist, an online styling service that helps women discover modest clothing they love, without the time commitment. Previously she was the CEO of Travel Noire, a boutique travel company reaching millions of travelers each month. In 2017 she sold the company to pursue Christ.

A serial entrepreneur, Zim is a Forbes "30 Under 30" awardee who has been featured in the New York Times, TIME, ELLE, Glamour, The Nation, Essence, and NPR, among others. She often writes in faraway places and lives with her husband in Illinois. Connect with her at www.zimism.com and @zimism.

Dare to Bloom: Trusting God Through Painful Endings and New Beginnings

Order your copy today via Amazon.

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

Blazer Nation, join our community at iamblacksuccess.com 

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

#BlackExcellence #BlackSuccess #BlackMen #BlackWomen #BlackEntrepreneur #BlackLeader #BlackPodcast

OUR FEATURED GUEST THIS WEEK: ZACH NUNN

Based out of Houston, TX, Zach Nunn is a “Big 4” Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion consultant and thought leader, with over 9 years of experience leading cultural and organizational transformation in a variety of industries. As the CEO and founder of Living Corporate, LLC, Zach amplifies and centers marginalized voices at work by interviewing Black and brown executives, activists, educators, elected officials and influencers which provides practical insight and that reaches over thousands majority Black and brown Millennial and Generation-X listeners a week. Despite all this work, his biggest passions are his wife, Candis and daughter, Emory.

CONNECT WITH ZACH

Website:       Living Corporate, LLC
Instagram:   @revnunnwisdom
Twitter:        @revnunnwisdom

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

Blazer Nation, join our community at iamblacksuccess.com 

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

#BlackExcellence #BlackSuccess #BlackMen #BlackWomen #BlackEntrepreneur #BlackLeader #BlackPodcast