Meanwhile, She with Aisha Beau

What happens when you know something needs to change, but you have no idea what comes next?

This week on Meanwhile, She, I'm joined by Les Alfred, host of She's So Lucky and creator of Balanced Black Girl, for a candid conversation about uncertainty, ambition, identity, and the courage it takes to make room for something different.

After eight years in podcasting, Les is stepping away from her weekly show without another opportunity lined up. She opens up about the fear of being forgotten, losing momentum, and navigating the financial and emotional realities of taking a break from something that's been central to her life.

Together, we explore the cost of reinvention, the pressure to keep producing, outgrowing the identities we've built, and the importance of finding fulfillment beyond professional accomplishments. We also talk about friendship, boundaries, and what it means to trust yourself when you don't have a clear roadmap.

What makes this conversation especially meaningful is that Les is sharing her experience while she's still in the middle of it. There isn't a perfectly packaged lesson or a triumphant ending, just an honest look at what it means to give yourself permission to pause, reassess, and consider what's possible.

If you've ever felt ready for a change but uncertain about what comes next, this episode is for you.

FOLLOW LES ALFRED
Instagram: @lesalfred + @shessoluckypod
She's So Lucky: https://www.shessoluckypodcast.com/

🎧 New guest episodes every Tuesday 

🎧 New solo episodes every other Thursday 

Website: aishabeau.com

Instagram: instagram.com/aishabeau

TikTok: tiktok.com/@aisha.beau

YouTube: youtube.com/@aishabeau

Subscribe to the newsletter: aishabeau.substack.com

For inquiries: [email protected]

Multimedia Producer: Starr Callahan (https://www.instagram.com/starr_callahan/)

Video Editor: Abiola Aina

Original Music by Krisblak + Boo

Follow them on IG: 

https://www.instagram.com/9.5.4

https://www.instagram.com/stezus

—

Meanwhile, She is a space for conversations on womanhood, identity, ambition, and the moments that define us.

You're booking opportunities, putting in the work, and making real progress. So why does financial security still feel so far away?

In this solo episode of Meanwhile, She, I'm getting honest about a tension I've been navigating firsthand: my professional visibility has grown, but the money, time, and support needed to sustain that growth haven't always kept pace. It's a conversation about the pressure to keep showing up when the behind-the-scenes reality is more complicated than people realize.

We explore why recognition isn't the same as security, how to identify the gap between how your life looks and how it actually functions, and why not every challenge can be solved with a better mindset. I also share the practical changes I've made to reclaim time, how motherhood has reshaped my priorities, and five questions to help you pinpoint what would genuinely make your everyday life more sustainable.

This isn't about dismissing what you've accomplished. It's about building the financial foundation, support systems, boundaries, and freedom to actually enjoy—and sustain—the life you're creating.

🎧 New guest episodes every Tuesday 

🎧 New solo episodes every other Thursday 

Website: aishabeau.com

Instagram: instagram.com/aishabeau

TikTok: tiktok.com/@aisha.beau

YouTube: youtube.com/@aishabeau

Subscribe to the newsletter: aishabeau.substack.com

For inquiries: [email protected]

Multimedia Producer: Starr Callahan (https://www.instagram.com/starr_callahan/)

Video Editor: Abiola Aina

Original Music by Krisblak + Boo

Follow them on IG: 

https://www.instagram.com/9.5.4

https://www.instagram.com/stezus

—

Meanwhile, She is a space for conversations on womanhood, identity, ambition, and the moments that define us.

What happens when you’ve spent years working toward a version of success, only to realize it might not be the life you actually want?

This week on Meanwhile, She, Aisha Beau Frisbey sits down with fashion and lifestyle creator Kanesha “Kay” Davenport, known online as OhHeyyKay, for an honest conversation about motherhood, ambition, confidence, and the complicated process of finding yourself again.

Kay opens up about the challenges she experienced after becoming a mother, the pressure of trying to fulfill so many different roles, and the moment she began questioning the definition of success she’d spent years pursuing.

We also get into her unexpected journey into content creation, why she nearly walked away, and the realities of building a business in an industry where visibility doesn’t always translate into financial security.

Throughout the conversation, Kay shares how she’s learned to trust herself, embrace her individuality, and build a life that reflects who she is rather than who she was expected to become.

We explore:

• How motherhood can change your relationship with yourself

• The difference between appearing confident and feeling confident

• Questioning the version of success you were taught to pursue

• Why Kay almost quit content creation

• The financial realities behind building a successful online presence

• Finding your identity beyond motherhood, marriage, and career

• The importance of authenticity and trusting your own voice

• Redefining what a fulfilling life looks like

For anyone who’s ever achieved something they once dreamed of and wondered why it doesn’t feel the way they expected, this conversation is for you.

FOLLOW KAY DAVENPORT

Instagram: @ohheyykay

🎧 New guest episodes every Tuesday 

🎧 New solo episodes every other Thursday 

Website: aishabeau.com

Instagram: instagram.com/aishabeau

TikTok: tiktok.com/@aisha.beau

YouTube: youtube.com/@aishabeau

Subscribe to the newsletter: aishabeau.substack.com

For inquiries: [email protected]

Multimedia Producer: Starr Callahan (https://www.instagram.com/starr_callahan/)

Video Editor: Abiola Aina

Original Music by Krisblak + Boo

Follow them on IG: 

https://www.instagram.com/9.5.4

https://www.instagram.com/stezus

—

Meanwhile, She is a space for conversations on womanhood, identity, ambition, and the moments that define us.

What does it mean to build a life you never saw modeled growing up?
 
Asia Milia Ware, beauty editor at The Cut, joins Aisha Beau Frisbey for a deeply personal conversation about ambition, beauty, relationships, and becoming the woman she once could only imagine. From growing up in Queens to building a career in fashion and beauty media, Asia reflects on the role of family, mentorship, hard work, and finding her own voice.
 
Together, they explore the difference between how success looks from the outside and how it feels to live it; the evolving relationship between beauty and self-worth; social media and self-perception; and what it means to prepare for marriage while creating a different blueprint for your future. Asia also shares what her mother's sacrifices mean to her and why opening doors for the next generation matters.
 
This is a conversation about expanding what's possible without losing sight of where you began.

FOLLOW ASIA:

Instagram: @missasiamilia

🎧 New guest episodes every Tuesday 

🎧 New solo episodes every other Thursday 

Website: aishabeau.com

Instagram: instagram.com/aishabeau

TikTok: tiktok.com/@aisha.beau

YouTube: youtube.com/@aishabeau

Subscribe to the newsletter: aishabeau.substack.com

For inquiries: [email protected]

Multimedia Producer: Starr Callahan (https://www.instagram.com/starr_callahan/)

Video Editor: Abiola Aina

Original Music by Krisblak + Boo

Follow them on IG: 

https://www.instagram.com/9.5.4

https://www.instagram.com/stezus

—

Meanwhile, She is a space for conversations on womanhood, identity, ambition, and the moments that define us.

Chioma Ngwudo is the co-founder and CEO of Cee Cee’s Closet, the African-inspired fashion and beauty brand she built alongside her sister, Uchenna. What started with a trip to Nigeria has grown into an eight-figure business, more than 250,000 orders, and a network of artisans across Nigeria and Ghana.
 
But this conversation isn’t just about the success story. Chioma gets candid about what building for more than a decade has cost her, why her first million “was not fun,” the mistake of believing she had to do everything herself, raising outside capital, and what has to change when the skills that built the business are no longer the same skills required to take it to the next level.
 
We also talk about building with family, challenging narrow ideas about Africa through Cee Cee’s Closet, learning to become a beginner again, and the tension so many ambitious women know well: how do you stay hungry for what’s next without overlooking the life and success you once prayed for?
 
Chioma is still ambitious. She still wants more. But she’s also learning to make room for gratitude, visibility, and a bigger definition of who gets to be a face of success.

FOLLOW CHIOMA
Instagram: @chiomanngwudo
Cee Cee's Closet IG:  @ceeceesclosetnyc  
Cee Cee's Closet TikTok: @ceeceesclosetnyc
Website: https://www.ceeceesclosetnyc.com/

🎧 New guest episodes every Tuesday 

🎧 New solo episodes every other Thursday 

Website: aishabeau.com

Instagram: instagram.com/aishabeau

TikTok: tiktok.com/@aisha.beau

YouTube: youtube.com/@aishabeau

Subscribe to the newsletter: aishabeau.substack.com

For inquiries: [email protected]

Multimedia Producer: Starr Callahan (https://www.instagram.com/starr_callahan/)

Video Editor: Abiola Aina

Original Music by Krisblak + Boo

Follow them on IG: 

https://www.instagram.com/9.5.4

https://www.instagram.com/stezus

—

Meanwhile, She is a space for conversations on womanhood, identity, ambition, and the moments that define us.

What do you do when you’ve built the successful career, earned the title and paycheck—and realize the life you worked for no longer fits?

Aisha sits down with Erica Brinker for an honest conversation about leaving the C-suite, separating identity from achievement, and figuring out who you are when the version of you who got this far isn’t necessarily the woman you want to remain.

Erica shares why leaving corporate life felt almost like a funeral, how motherhood shifted her priorities, and how losing her infant son, Luca, changed her relationship with time and taught her how quickly everything can change.

They also get into ambition, money, validation, entrepreneurship, the pressure to have it all together, learning to speak more honestly, and the freedom Erica is discovering in her 40s as she gives herself permission to choose what comes next.

For any woman wondering whether she’s ungrateful, lost—or simply beginning to outgrow a life that once fit her perfectly.

FOLLOW ERICA BRINKER
At The Brink Podcast:  Youtube.com/@AtTheBrinkPodcast  
Instagram: @official.erica.brinker + @at.the.brink.media
Web: https://atthebrinkmedia.com/

🎧 New guest episodes every Tuesday 

🎧 New solo episodes every other Thursday 

Website: aishabeau.com

Instagram: instagram.com/aishabeau

TikTok: tiktok.com/@aisha.beau

YouTube: youtube.com/@aishabeau

Subscribe to the newsletter: aishabeau.substack.com

For inquiries: [email protected]

Multimedia Producer: Starr Callahan (https://www.instagram.com/starr_callahan/)

Video Editor: Abiola Aina

Original Music by Krisblak + Boo

Follow them on IG: 

https://www.instagram.com/9.5.4

https://www.instagram.com/stezus

—

Meanwhile, She is a space for conversations on womanhood, identity, ambition, and the moments that define us.

What happens when being strong, disciplined, and useful becomes so much a part of your identity that you no longer know how to exist without it?

This week, Aisha sits down with burlesque artist and Healing Through Seduction creator Perle Noire for a deeply personal conversation about self-devotion, embodiment, self-trust, and the identities women build around sacrifice.

Perle shares how her relationship with burlesque became a path back to her body after being exploited at 19—and why the work she does today isn’t ultimately about sexuality or performing for someone else. It’s about helping women reconnect with themselves.

Together, Aisha and Perle unpack the difference between self-discipline and self-devotion, why high-achieving women can struggle to surrender control, what eldest daughters and “strong friends” learn about usefulness, and why sensuality can be a relationship with yourself rather than something reserved for sex or partnership.

Aisha also opens up about her own relationship with her body after pregnancy and motherhood, being the “good girl,” sexuality and shame, ambition, financial freedom, and the pressure to become the successful person who can carry everyone else.

Later, Perle explains why she held a funeral for “Mama Perle”—the identity that helped make her successful but could no longer accompany the woman she was becoming—and what new boundaries have required her to leave behind.

This episode asks a difficult question: Who are you when your worth is no longer measured by how much you can carry for everyone else?

Listener Gift: https://blackburlesquequeen.com/5-minute-body-activation-mirror-work

FOLLOW PERLE: 

IG: @theperlenoire

YouTube: @theperlenoire

Web: blackburlesquequeen.com

🎧 New guest episodes every Tuesday 

🎧 New solo episodes every other Thursday 

Website: aishabeau.com

Instagram: instagram.com/aishabeau

TikTok: tiktok.com/@aisha.beau

YouTube: youtube.com/@aishabeau

Subscribe to the newsletter: aishabeau.substack.com

For inquiries: [email protected]

Multimedia Producer: Starr Callahan (https://www.instagram.com/starr_callahan/)

Video Editor: Abiola Aina

Original Music by Krisblak + Boo

Follow them on IG: 

https://www.instagram.com/9.5.4

https://www.instagram.com/stezus

—

Meanwhile, She is a space for conversations on womanhood, identity, ambition, and the moments that define us.

Last night, a member of the Meanwhile, She community sent me a DM that stopped me in my tracks: “Remember how sad you were this time last year, about your last retreat?” She was right — and what a year can change.

In this solo episode, I'm sharing what it looked like to burn the house down last fall — canceling my Italy retreat, ending things with a manager who had stopped believing in me, and postponing the podcast I had been dreaming about for years — and what it looked like to rebuild slowly, quietly, one boring decision at a time.

I'm also sharing where I sit today: with a podcast that has finally come to life, representation that actually believes in me, and a Mallorca retreat that's almost half booked in less than twenty-four hours.

If you're in a season right now where things are falling apart and you're wondering whether you should quit, cancel, or reroute — this one is for you. Sometimes the bravest thing you can do is give yourself permission to burn the house down and let the rebuild show you what's actually meant to be there.

You have one beautiful, sexy-ass life. Live it.

🎧 New guest episodes every Tuesday 

🎧 New solo episodes every other Thursday 

Website: aishabeau.com

Instagram: instagram.com/aishabeau

TikTok: tiktok.com/@aisha.beau

YouTube: youtube.com/@aishabeau

Subscribe to the newsletter: aishabeau.substack.com

For inquiries: [email protected]

Multimedia Producer: Starr Callahan (https://www.instagram.com/starr_callahan/)

Video Editor: Abiola Aina

Original Music by Krisblak + Boo

Follow them on IG: 

https://www.instagram.com/9.5.4

https://www.instagram.com/stezus

—

Meanwhile, She is a space for conversations on womanhood, identity, ambition, and the moments that define us.

There’s a version of you that has to be grieved before the next one can arrive.

This week I sit down with Kelly Augustine — celebrity stylist to Danielle Brooks and Gabourey Sidibe, Contributing Editor at Marie Claire, founder of StyledbyKAB — for a conversation that starts with clothes and ends somewhere much deeper.

We get into why styling is 80% psychology, the reset she needed after her divorce, what nobody tells you about meeting new moms in the middle of their body changes, how she navigated an industry that treated inclusivity as a trend and moved on, and the affirmation she’s leaning on right now: “I am here.”

🎧 New guest episodes every Tuesday 

🎧 New solo episodes every other Thursday 

Website: aishabeau.com

Instagram: instagram.com/aishabeau

TikTok: tiktok.com/@aisha.beau

YouTube: youtube.com/@aishabeau

Subscribe to the newsletter: aishabeau.substack.com

For inquiries: [email protected]

Multimedia Producer: Starr Callahan (https://www.instagram.com/starr_callahan/)

Video Editor: Abiola Aina

Original Music by Krisblak + Boo

Follow them on IG: 

https://www.instagram.com/9.5.4

https://www.instagram.com/stezus

—

Meanwhile, She is a space for conversations on womanhood, identity, ambition, and the moments that define us.

What if the best chapter of your life hasn’t even started yet?

This week I sit down with Patti Roberts — Creator, co-host of Between Mothers and Daughters (with her daughter Kamaria), and one of the sharpest voices I’ve had on the show about what it actually takes to build something real in your 60s. She’s living proof that the doors don’t close when you think they do.

We get into hiring her own daughter as her business partner, three marriages and the lessons she carried out of each one, why she cleared decades of people out of her life to make room for the version of her she was stepping into, and the reframe she wants every woman over 35 to hear: “This is not the end of the road. This is just midway.”

🎧 New guest episodes every Tuesday 

🎧 New solo episodes every other Thursday 

Website: aishabeau.com

Instagram: instagram.com/aishabeau

TikTok: tiktok.com/@aisha.beau

YouTube: youtube.com/@aishabeau

Subscribe to the newsletter: aishabeau.substack.com

For inquiries: [email protected]

Multimedia Producer: Starr Callahan (https://www.instagram.com/starr_callahan/)

Video Editor: Abiola Aina

Original Music by Krisblak + Boo

Follow them on IG: 

https://www.instagram.com/9.5.4

https://www.instagram.com/stezus

—

Meanwhile, She is a space for conversations on womanhood, identity, ambition, and the moments that define us.