Libryia Jones is living a two-fold dream:  building a business that allows her to travel around the world.  The Wanderist Life is a community of location independent (entrepreneurs or employees) mostly black professionals who travel the world for up to a whole year. 

Libryia had always wanted to travel and live abroad but she just didn’t know how.  While in grad school, her professor recommended her for the perfect opportunity, but she was disqualified because she had a child.  Years later, another opportunity presented itself and Libryia was yet again disqualified because she had a child.  That’s when Libryia sprang into action and created a travel community that could accommodate people just like her. 

In this episode, Librya and I talk about how the Wanderist Life travel program works, who it’s a perfect fit for, how they prepare their travelers for their trip, and in case you’re thinking well I’m not location independent, then Libryia has tips and resources to help you become location independent.

Listen to the full episode to learn Libryia’s tips for overcoming challenges of building a travel business. 

To find out more about this episode, go to www.artsteele.co/ep47-LibryiaJones

Today I’m chatting with Kendra James, CEO and creator of The Finance Femme, a premier finance consulting firm for women entrepreneurs.  Kendra integrates her corporate experience, extensive entrepreneurial knowledge to help women run their business with the confidence of having a full-time CFO. 

Upon graduating with a degree in Finance and accounting, Kendra spent 10+ years working for companies like GE managing over 2 billion in sales and 200 million in expenses.  She spent thousands of hours inside or preparing for, Executive Boardroom meetings.  

But, a random conversation with the business owner of a boutique garnered Kendra her first client.  The boutique owner was on the verge of losing her business because of her finances and Kendra was able to help her get things under control.  It was through that experience that Kendra discovered a passion for helping small business owners with their finances.

Kendra and I discuss her own entrepreneurship journey, how she went from not defining her target audience to niching down to women with retail and e-commerce businesses, and why making money in your business doesn’t necessarily mean you’re doing well.

The Finance Femme reaches many entrepreneurs via Social Media with over 18,000 active social media followers.  Through her social media page, Kendra educates entrepreneurs about everything from funding their start-up to managing their cash flow.

Listen to the full episode to find out the common finance mistakes new entrepreneurs make and Kendra’s advice to fix them.   

To find out more about this episode, visit www.artsteele.co/ep46-kendrajames.

Today I’m chatting with Kriss Rowry of KrissDitIt.com.  Kriss specializes in this art – her websites are masterpieces!  Krystle Rowry (or Kriss) is not only a web designer and brand strategist, she specializes in creating beautiful online homes that generate ongoing revenue while conveying each entrepreneur’s unique style and message.

Kriss Rowry gives amazing insight into how she grew a business that keeps her booked six months out, how B-school changed everything for her, and the do’s and dont’s to creating a beautiful and profitable website.  Kriss started out as a beauty blogger and an intern and quickly became known for designing websites. 

Kriss made two major decisions that turned her business around: (1) she joined Marie Forleo’s B-School and she niched down to cater to an elite clientele.  As a result, Kriss has designed some of the most popular and beautiful websites on the internet.

She is a member of the Marie Forleo web design team and is an official mentor of B-School.  Kriss is such a fan of B-school she’s an affiliate with her own amazing mentor program The Come Up Collective.   

 Here are four things Kriss learned from B-School: 

• The step-by-step process of marketing yourself to your ideal audience
• The mindset shift needed to be really successful
• How to run a business (including the finances)
• Confidence to sell herself as a designer (despite no formal training in design) 

Want a website that stops your visitors in their track?  Listen to the podcast to hear her list of steps to take to make your website standout, and what exactly you should be looking for in your next designer.

To find out more information about this episode, visit www.artsteele.co/ep54-krissrowry

According to a recent study, by 2053, the median income of Blacks will be $0 (ZERO) - the Black middle class will disappear.  

A Brandeis University study last year determined that the real reason whites are richer than blacks is because they pass wealth down from one generation to the next.  Some of the notable statistics the study found were:  

• Whites have enjoyed a long history of public policies that have favored them – GI bill; housing banking, education, etc.; 
• White adults who attended college have 7.2 times more wealth than the median Black adult who attended college;
• White SINGLE parent homes have 2.2 times more wealth than the median Black TWO-parent household;
• White households that include a full-time worker has 7.6 times more wealth than the median Black household with a full-time worker.

Blacks earn more money today than any other time in history; Blacks own more wealth today than any other time in history.  But we don't pass it down and each generation has to start from scratch.  

In this episode, I discuss the importance of estate planning and how we can use that in our community to bridge the gap.  I discuss:

• the landscape of estate planning (the compounded effects of whites passing wealth down from generation to generation);
• The nitty gritty of estate planning (what's a will, what's a revocable trust?); and
• action steps you can take today to make sure you're well on your way to building a legacy (and not just hustling).

You can find out more information about this episode at artsteele.co/ep44-estateplanning

Did you enjoy this episode?  Let's continue the conversation on Instagram and Twitter - @artsteele_esq.

Today I’m chatting with Lamar Tyler, owner of Traffic Sales & Profit, whose life’s motto is Passion, Purpose, and Profit. He and his wife Ronnie, are the creators of the internationally renowned blog Black and Married with Kids.  They own Tyler New Media which has four independently produced films and a social media presence that includes over 500,000 Facebook fans.  Lamar’s businesses focus on promoting positive images of black families and building generational wealth in the black community.

Today Lamar and I discuss why they decided to focus on promoting positive images of black families, why it’s important for us to build wealth that we can pass on, and our greatest challenges as entrepreneurs.  

 According to Lamar, the key to success in the black community is:

•       Building a network and sharing information
•       Making sacrifices to create and accumulate wealth
•       Creating multiple streams of income; and
•       Investing in education and coaching

Lamar has been recognized by Ebony, Essence, and Parent Magazine, The Washington Post, NPR and many other media outlets.

Listen to the full episode to find out what Lamar believes is the #1 thing blacks need to be successful entrepreneurs.

To find out more about this episode, visit artsteele.co/ep43-lamartyler. 

Enjoy!

January is almost over and I'm sure you're working on all of those power resolutions you made for your business this year.  Those power moves should include making the legal aspects of your business a priority.    

In today’s episode, I’m talking about the 4 legal moves you need to make in 2018 to take your business to the next level.   

Legal move #1 - Legalize your business.  There is no reason you should be out in these streets without legalizing your business.  Here are three reasons why you should do it:

• Make your business official
• Build trust with your audience and attract higher caliber clients
• Protect yourself and limit your liability

Legal move #2 - Get a lawyer on your team

• Establish a relationship with an attorney (pay for a consultation!)
• You don’t have to hire an attorney full-time, but having one you’ve worked with and who is familiar with your business makes it easier for you to ask that “quick question” down the line

Legal move #3 - Put it in writing!

• No transaction without a contract, no matter how small or how impressive the brand
• Sign contracts with clients and even with your peers, especially with your peers

Legal move #4 - Build a willable business

• What in your business can you pass down?
• Copyrights, Trademarks?  Turn your intellectual property into something tangible
• Terms and conditions and contracts protect your digital content

To find out more about how to legalize your business, what entity to choose, how to form your entity,  check out the pre-recorded webinar artsteele.co/legalizeyourbiz

To find out more about this episode, visit artsteele.co/ep42-legalizeyourbiz

Enjoy!

**Legal disclaimer:  The information provided on this podcast are resources for educational and informational purposes only and should not take the place of hiring an attorney.  Listening to this episode or downloading any workbooks or worksheets creates an attorney-client relationship with Art Steele.

Imagine being stranded in a desert for four days and the only way to get water is to crawl on your hands and knees for 4 days, just to get water.  

That’s how Rohan felt about getting out of corporate servitude and that’s what drove him to laser focus on building his own business. 

Rohan’s no-fluff-no-nonsense approach to entrepreneurship is refreshing and productive.  In an age where too many of us focus on the things that don’t matter, Rohan knows how to cut to the chase and get paid.

In this episode, Rohan and I discuss his childhood growing up in Barbados, how getting overlooked for promotions at his accounting job forced him to turn to entrepreneurship, and how he mastered providing local services with a tech twist.

Rohan shared three things every entrepreneur needs to be successful:

• Discipline – success requires waking up every day and doing the same thing and not seeing a return for a long time;
• Self-awareness – some ideas where no amount of passion will make it viable; and
• Creativity - the ability to be creative and maneuver when something isn’t working one way.

Rohan also owns a lawn service company, a wet shave subscription box, a website development company, a copywriting service, service booking app, and more!   

Despite his phenomenal success, Rohan is remarkably transparent; as soon as he makes a new discovery including a new market or new twist on an existing market, he immediately shares it on Facebook with the goal of helping other entrepreneurs to efficiently and successfully launch and grow small serial businesses.

To find out more about this episode, visit artsteele.co/ep41-rohangilkes

Enjoy!

Today I’m chatting with Bola Sokunbi, Certified Financial Education Instructor and founder of Clever Girl Finance, a platform that empowers and educates women to make the best financial decision for their current and future selves and to pursue their dreams of financial independence in order to live life on their own terms.  To date, Clever Girl Finance has reached over 100,000 women.  

It’s easy to budget when you have a steady paycheck, but what happens when you get paid every other month or make 10K from a major launch and crickets for another three months?   

Bola and I discuss her early teachings of finances from her mother while growing up in Nigeria, why she started Clever Girl Finance, how she went full-time in Clever Girl Finance within a year, and the common mistakes entrepreneurs when starting a business.

Bola shared three tips for entrepreneurs wanting to transition from their 9-5 to full-time entrepreneur:

• Management expectations and expect inconsistent income.
• Create a business plan, one which forces you to plan how you will generate revenue.
• Make sure you can sell something to become profitable.

Bola also shared five common mistakes new entrepreneurs make

• Not having a business strategy before starting.
• Co-mingling personal and business finances.
• Overconsumption of information and no implementation.
• Not consulting with a lawyer prior to starting a business.
• Not having the right expectations for growth and success.  

For more information about this podcast, visit www.artsteele.co/ep40-bolasokunbi

Enjoy!

In August 2016, losing a close friend left me devastated and I was ready to quit my solo practice and go back to working for BigLaw.  

In June 2016, my business had finally started to turn around so I decided to start a podcast to share my journey.  And by August 2016, I had recorded a couple of episodes, told a few friends, lined up guests and dropped $2k on a website and brand strategies. 

When tragedy struck in 2016, I wanted to pack the whole thing up and move on, but I had already invested time and hard-earned money into this podcast, I figured, I'd just release the episodes - which I did in December 2016.  

I had no intention of recording additional episodes and didn't think anyone would listen.  However, I wanted to finish what I started, so I released the episodes.    

After releasing the podcast, I received so much support and feeback from friends and family (and random people!), it kept me going.  

In this episode, I talk about how my podcast helped me find my voice, increase revenue in my business, allowed me to fulfill my mission of providing accessible legal services, and discover a community of black female entrepreneurs who have inspired me to keep going.  

I was encouraged to release this episode because of my experience this past weekend at Brown Girls Love Power Day and Oprah's acceptance speech at the 2018 Golden Globes Award.  

Find out how my encounter with Oprah convinced me to leave my job and how finding my voice has reignited my passion.

For more information about this podcast, visit www.artsteele.co/ep39-findyourvoice

Enjoy! 

Persistence - nothing can take the place of persistence.  Persistence and determination are all powerful.  

I mentioned in episode 37 that I lack discipline and it has held me back from realizing my potential.  I dug deep and discovered that my lack of discipline was due to my inability to follow up - in other words, I'm not persistent.    

In this episode, I explain the rationale behind why I chose persistence as my word for 2018 (shout out to Dreena Whitfield and WhitPR and the movie The Founders).  

In this episode, I discuss:  

• Persistence works because it's a numbers game.
• Being persistence requires a level of crazy - be proud of your crazy.
• In order to be persistence, you have to be very clear about your message and you have to know the business you're in.  
• Why I'm going for RESULTS and not goals
• How working toward my result gives me more purpose than just focusing on goals (tip form Ep. 33 guest, Courtney Sanders).  

I'd love to hear all about your word of the year.  DM, tag me or holla at me on Instagram at @artsteele_esq

To find out more information about this episode, go to www.artsteele.co/ep38-persistence.

Enjoy!