Rich Lessons

Tony Gaskins was a life coach before most people knew what the word meant online. He's a bestselling author of more than 20 books, he's built a community of more than 3.5 million followers, and he's mentored hundreds of professional athletes across the NBA, NFL and college sports.We've known Tony for years, going back to our days of working with pro athletes, so this one felt like catching up with an old friend who also happens to say the quiet part out loud.We got into all of it. How a book he wrote at 22 led to Oprah and Tyra, why he says nine out of ten clients still come to him about relationships, why men wait until it's too late to call, and why he'll tell you the truth even when you don't want it.We also talked about the part nobody likes to admit: who is actually qualified to give relationship advice, why he says Black men sharing wisdom get side-eyed, and how to tell a real coach from a scammer.If you've ever wondered who's worth listening to, or if you're building someone else's dream while yours waits, this one is for you.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━WHAT WE GET INTO▸ How we know Tony: the pro athlete world and Baton Rouge▸ From a book at 22 to Oprah, Tyra and Twitter▸ The Alicia Keys retweet that blew up his quotes▸ The Maserati that made a generation of men think relationship advice was the money▸ Where his money actually came from: ghostwriting and author consulting▸ Why he says a married relationship coach is rare, and why that matters▸ Coaching vs. therapy: where the line is and when he "fires" a client▸ Do Black coaches get judged harder? Who gives them the most trouble: men or women?▸ The pound of cure vs. the ounce of prevention: why men wait too long▸ The Destiny app: no swiping, and the 3 Bs (brains, brand, body)▸ Why he changed his mind about dating apps after years of telling people to stay off them▸ Delusion, standards vs. preferences, and a very real debate about height▸ What women misunderstand about men, and what men misunderstand about women▸ Getting approached, stalkers, and why nobody gets approached anymore▸ His rich lesson: "If you don't build your dream, someone else will hire you to help them build theirs."━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━FOLLOW TONY GASKINSInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/tonygaskins/?hl=enYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/user/TonyGaskins━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━RICH LESSONS PODCASTHosted by Sevetri Wilson Taylor and Sheena Allen🎧 LISTEN & SUBSCRIBEApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rich-lessons/id1787798124Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/40jGSUvVrMbxKcJ1ghE8kl▶️ WATCH & SUBSCRIBE ON YOUTUBEhttps://www.youtube.com/@RichLessonsPodcast📲 FOLLOW RICH LESSONSInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/richlessonspodcastTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@richlessonspodcast

Jessica Johnson started bartending in 2008. Then she got laid off from her HR job in 2018 and realized, "I'm not clocking back in."Today she owns JusTini's, a New Orleans restaurant and cocktail bar in the Bywater. It opened in May 2023 and turned into a full restaurant because the demand pushed her there.Nobody told her what that would cost. Startup costs ran three to four times what she expected, and that was before the silverware, glassware and plates.We talked about all of it. The money, the staff, the customers, the reviews, and why she thinks Black-owned restaurants get judged harder. She's honest that she doesn't know why, and just as honest that "we're hard on our own people."If you've ever said "I should open a restaurant," or you're the customer who writes the review before talking to the manager, watch this one first.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━WHAT WE GET INTO▸ From bartending at Southern University to getting laid off from HR▸ The moment she knew she wasn't clocking back in▸ How JusTini's went from cocktail bar to full restaurant▸ Why startup costs run 3 to 4 times what you think▸ The hidden costs: silverware, glassware and plates▸ Being stuck between mom-and-pop and corporate expectations▸ Why Black-owned restaurants seem to get harsher reviews▸ Posting the complaint online vs. talking to the manager▸ Why tipping was never fair, and why she uses an automatic 18% gratuity▸ Why she won't give free food to everyone who asks▸ Turnover, especially in the back of the house▸ How motherhood changed what success means to her▸ Her rich lesson: your brand is your brand, down to the capital "T" and the red lip━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━FOLLOW Jessica JohnsonJusTini's: https://justinisnola.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/justinisnola/3162 Dauphine Street, New Orleans (Bywater)JusTini's CocktailsCrash Course Bartending AcademyI Am Mommy Boss━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━RICH LESSONS PODCASTHosted by Sevetri Wilson Taylor and Sheena Allen🎧 LISTEN & SUBSCRIBEApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rich-lessons/id1787798124Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/40jGSUvVrMbxKcJ1ghE8kl▶️ WATCH & SUBSCRIBE ON YOUTUBEhttps://www.youtube.com/@RichLessonsPodcast📲 FOLLOW RICH LESSONSInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/richlessonspodcastTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@richlessonspodcast

Gambling is everywhere now, and you don't have to leave your house to do it. 🎰 Sports betting apps, Polymarket, casino games on your phone: in this episode we're asking where the line actually is, and who's getting paid while the rest of us decide.We grew up hearing "we're going to the boat." Now the casino is in your pocket, and your favorite athlete is probably telling you to download it. 📲In this episode of Rich Lessons, we get real about:🎲 Why the old casino felt different from betting apps, and why the new version is harder to see🎲 Polymarket and betting on EVERYTHING: games, politics, the weather, and whether someone posts today🎲 Sports betting addiction and how easy it is to hide when it all happens on your phone🎲 The double standard: players and referees get banned or even jailed for betting, while leagues, ESPN, and sponsors promote the odds. In our view, that's the league selling the very thing it punishes🎲 What casinos do to keep you playing (there's a reason there are no windows)🎲 How being broke can make "what's the worst that can happen?" sound like a plan🎲 Our own stories: a college friend who couldn't stop, a lottery ticket mission in LA, and a woman asking strangers for gas money to get home🎲 Where WE draw the lineReal talk: we're not here to tell anyone how to spend their money. A $20 scratch-off or a blackjack game once in a while? That's your business. But when it's your savings, your family, or your last $20, that's a problem, and we think it's worth talking about out loud.💬 Where do you draw the line? Tell us in the comments. Is online betting just entertainment, or has it gone too far?If gambling is hurting you or someone you love, you're not alone. Call or text 1-800-GAMBLER (the National Problem Gambling Helpline) or visit ncpgambling.org.

The WNBA is making headlines, but is women's basketball getting the respect it deserves?

This week on Rich Takes, Sheena Allen and Sevetri Wilson Taylor break down the controversy surrounding the Atlanta Dream, Atlanta Hawks, and WNBA Finals, from arena scheduling drama to a promotional poster that had everyone asking: Who approved this?

Plus, we're talking fall TV premieres, the return of Law & Order: SVU, a new take on Carrie, and our recent trip to South Carolina for a gathering hosted by Rihanna's Clara Lionel Foundation.

In this week's quick takes:

• WNBA controversy: Are women's sports still being treated as an afterthought?

• Atlanta Hawks backlash and the business of women's basketball

• Fall TV premieres, Law & Order: SVU, and Carrie

• Rihanna's Clara Lionel Foundation and supporting communities across the South

• A quick shoutout to our latest Rich Lessons episode on Black farming, food, and the great oxtail debate

Rich Takes is the weekly hot takes series from Rich Lessons, bringing you quick, candid conversations on the latest in business, technology, money, entertainment, and culture.

New episodes weekly. Follow Rich Lessons on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and join the conversation on social media.

🎧 New Rich Lessons episodes weekly on YouTube, Spotify & Apple Podcasts
📲 Follow @richlessonspodcast on Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn & Facebook

What does it really take to run a successful farm today? Wayne Swanson Jr. breaks down the money, mistakes, and unfiltered truths behind your food.

Wayne started with a cabbage plant from his son's school project. Almost two decades later, it's Swanson Family Farm LLC, an organic, grass-fed, pasture-raised beef operation in Georgia, plus a consultancy that works with farms across the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic.In this episode of Rich Lessons, Sevetri and Sheena sit down with Farmer Wayne for the real conversation about the business of Black farming, not the nostalgia version of it.THE BUSINESS + THE MONEY- Why he says farming has to run like a business, not a memory- Losing $200,000, the 401(k) mistake, and what he changed- How he sells whole, half, quarter and eighth cows, and why he won't sell a single pound of ground beef- What happened to his sales when the beef recalls and grocery prices hit- The truck wrap that changed how he sells, and the Rich Lesson behind itTHE TRUTH ABOUT YOUR FOOD- Why he says marbling is marketing- Oxtails vs. neck bones: did we even grow up on oxtails?- How to tell a real farm egg from a store-bought one- What a clean farm should smell like- Why you shouldn't pull up to a farm uninvitedTHE LAND + THE SYSTEM- Growing up between his grandparents' 10-acre farm and a New Jersey suburb- The front-yard garden, the HOA visit, and how he ended up on his first farm- Why he says a lot of successful Black farmers went direct to their customers- What he's building nextThese are Wayne's opinions and experiences, from someone who has lived this for years. Take what's useful.Find Swanson Family Farm on all platforms and at swansonfamilyfarmllc.comWhich side are you on, oxtails or neck bones? Tell us in the comments.#RichLessons #BlackFarmers #BusinessOfFarming #SwansonFamilyFarm #BlackOwnedBusiness #FarmToTable

A lot of people don't know that. They hear the accordion and the washboard and picture a little short white man on a stage somewhere. Gabrielle Deculus has been correcting that assumption her whole career — and she's got the receipts, because her great-grandfather is Alphonse "Bois Sec" Ardoin, one of the first Black musicians ever recorded in the South and one of the people who shaped Creole and zydeco into what we know today.Now she runs the NOLA Zydeco Fest, and she's building the next chapter of what her family started.We got the whole history lesson. What Creole actually means (hint: not a seasoning, not a complexion). Why not every Creole is Cajun but every Cajun is Creole. How the washboard came into it and why that part isn't Cajun at all. And why there's a zydeco club in Japan but folks in Louisiana still think it's white people music.But Gabbi isn't just a culture keeper — she's a businesswoman. She runs St. Josephine, her consulting firm. She's worked on productions connected to Live Nation, Beyoncé and Kanye West. She built Business Rules for Women into a community of 200,000+. She chaired Step Up Louisiana when they got New Orleans city workers to a $15 minimum wage. And she just started AI for Lunch after walking into an AI training and realizing — again — she was the only Black woman in the room.So we got into the money too. What festivals actually cost. Why everybody's suddenly mad about paying for them. Why sponsors are harder this year. And the rule she lives by: never put up money you ain't willing to lose.🎃 NOLA ZYDECO FEST is October 31 + November 1 at Heritage Park in Slidell. Kids are free. Go get your tickets 👇🏾https://nolazydecofest.com━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━WHAT WE GET INTO▸ "Not every Creole is Cajun, but every Cajun is Creole"▸ What Creole actually means — and what people get wrong about it▸ Her great-grandfather Alphonse "Bois Sec" Ardoin and the first Black recordings in the South▸ Why the washboard isn't Cajun — and who brought it in▸ How zydeco got labeled white people music▸ Why outsiders became the face of a music that isn't theirs▸ The zydeco club in Japan nobody talks about▸ Who people expect to see running a zydeco festival▸ Year 1 vs Year 6 of NOLA Zydeco Fest▸ What event production actually costs — and why faith is in the budget▸ "I try not to put up money I ain't willing to lose"▸ Why everybody's complaining about paying for festivals now▸ Studying abroad in Seoul and realizing she could do anything▸ "I never went and sought out a job. I am the job."▸ Building Business Rules for Women — and what's coming in 2027▸ Walking into an AI training as the only Black woman in the room▸ Data centers, Cancer Alley, and the catch-22 nobody wants to name▸ Rest is resistance — and the 1 AM texts Sheena needs to stop sending▸ Her rich lesson: keep evolving━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━FOLLOW GABRIELLENOLA Zydeco Fest: https://nolazydecofest.comInstagram: @nolazydecofestivalSt. Josephine | Business Rules for Women | AI for Lunch━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━RICH LESSONS PODCASTHosted by Sevetri Wilson Taylor and Sheena Allen🎧 LISTEN & SUBSCRIBEApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rich-lessons/id1787798124Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/40jGSUvVrMbxKcJ1ghE8kl▶️ WATCH & SUBSCRIBE ON YOUTUBEhttps://www.youtube.com/@richlessonspodcast📲 FOLLOW RICH LESSONSInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/richlessonspodcastTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@richlessonspodcast

Should your wealthy best friend pay for you to fly first class?

This week on Rich Takes, Sheena Allen and Sevetri Wilson Taylor jump into the viral debate surrounding Savannah James and April McDaniel traveling in different classes on an international flight. If you have the money, should your best friend be sitting in first class with you, or is no one entitled to someone else’s wealth?

That opens up a bigger conversation about friendship, money, the difference between being rich and being wealthy, and what generosity looks like when the financial gap between friends is huge.

Then, Sheena and Sevetri talk about the growing number of food recalls and the question many consumers are asking: what is actually safe to eat?

Plus, they take on the viral “worth the money” debate. From first-class flights and comfortable shoes to DoorDash, house managers, childcare, personal chefs, trainers, travel, and executive assistants, what purchases genuinely make life better—and which luxuries are actually worth paying for?

Rich Takes is the weekly hot-takes series from Rich Lessons, where Sheena and Sevetri break down the trending conversations in money, business, culture, lifestyle, and everything people are debating online.

New Rich Takes every Thursday on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

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Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rich-lessons/id1787798124

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/40jGSUvVrMbxKcJ1ghE8kl?si=9666ca84559c4e16

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@richlessonspodcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/richlessonspodcast/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@richlessonspodcast

If you're building something right now, this is the episode we wish we had when we started.Between the two of us we've bootstrapped, raised millions, run venture-backed companies, and started all over again. And every single one of those seasons came with a lesson we had to learn the hard way.So we sat down and went through them. The real ones.Whether you can actually protect your peace while you're launching (one of us thinks soft life is a lie). How to take a no without taking it personally, and why you should never screenshot an investor's rejection and post it. The email that turned a no into a yes in two hours. Why money just helps you make mistakes faster if you don't know how to use it. Why people buy outcomes, not features. And the call Sevetri will never reschedule.Whether you're running a startup, a restaurant, a service business, or you're still figuring out the idea, this one applies to you.Tell us which lesson hit the hardest 👇🏾━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━WHAT WE GET INTO▸ Protecting your greatest asset: you▸ Is soft life actually possible when you're launching?▸ Why Sevetri doesn't do 3 AM calls anymore (and Sheena still does)▸ Taking a no personally vs professionally▸ The founder "anti-list" — yes, we remember every no▸ The email that turned an investor's no into a yes in two hours▸ Please don't screenshot your investor rejection on LinkedIn▸ "$500K is a lot of money… until you raise it"▸ The art of the follow-up (even when you don't need anything)▸ Cash is oxygen — and why capital helps you make mistakes faster▸ People buy outcomes, not features▸ Delegation, firing fast, and why the CEO role changes every year▸ Mentors vs sponsors — and the no-show that ended it before it started▸ Hiring for your weakness until it becomes your superpower━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODEOur episode with Deb Grant: https://youtu.be/myAw1Xy6kJE━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━RICH LESSONS PODCASTHosted by Sevetri Wilson Taylor and Sheena Allen🎧 LISTEN & SUBSCRIBEApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/40jGSUv...▶️ WATCH & SUBSCRIBE ON YOUTUBEhttps://www.youtube.com/@richlessonsp...📲 FOLLOW RICH LESSONSInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/richlessons...TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@richlessonspo...━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━#RichLessons #EntrepreneurLessons #StartupAdvice #FounderLessons #Entrepreneurship #Fundraising #SmallBusiness #WomenFounders #Networking #Mentorship #BusinessPodcast #FounderMindset #CEOLife

Are we in a recession, or are the warning signs already showing up in everyday life?

In this episode of Rich Takes, Sheena Allen and Sevetri Wilson Taylor break down the economic headlines raising some serious questions about where things are headed.

First up: Atlanta’s surge in evictions. With eviction filings climbing and Black renters disproportionately affected, Sheena and Sevetri discuss whether rising evictions, credit card debt, job losses, housing costs, and financial pressure are signs of deeper cracks in the U.S. economy, especially for the middle class and Black households.

Then, the conversation turns to Washington: Should elected officials be allowed to actively trade investments while in office? The hosts react to recent headlines surrounding Donald Trump’s securities trading activity and the broader, long-running debate over members of Congress trading while having access to information and decisions that can move markets.

And what about that “$5,000 check”? Sheena and Sevetri discuss the proposal, why consumers shouldn’t count on money that hasn’t materialized, and what economic promises can look like when households are already feeling squeezed.

From Atlanta’s eviction crisis and recession warning signs to debt, the disappearing middle class, political stock trading, and the proposed $5,000 checks, this week’s Rich Takes asks a bigger question: What is the economy actually telling us right now?

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Rich Takes is the hot-takes mini-series from Rich Lessons, where Sheena Allen and Sevetri Wilson Taylor unpack the headlines everyone is talking about across money, business, entrepreneurship, technology, culture, entertainment, lifestyle, and politics.

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Follow Rich Lessons on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube for more conversations and clips.

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rich-lessons/id1787798124

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/40jGSUvVrMbxKcJ1ghE8kl?si=9666ca84559c4e16

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@richlessonspodcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/richlessonspodcast/

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Carrita Cloud is the founder and CEO of Creativity Justified, the agency behind work for the NFL, Microsoft, Delta, Ochsner Health, the Saints and the Pelicans. Inc. named her to the 2025 Female Founders 500. Her team has managed over $800 million in advertising dollars.She started it in a closet. Seven months pregnant, just fired, insurance gone, cold calling and cold emailing people who mostly said no.We got into all of it — the systems she built when it was still just her, how she actually got in the room with the NFL, and what COVID did to her retainers when it was still a small business agency.But the part that stopped us cold was the pricing story. She bid $25,000 on a contract. Another Black woman on the other side called her and said if I submit this, they'll think you're a joke. The lowest competing bid was $125,000.If you've ever wondered whether you're charging enough, this one is for you 🎧━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━WHAT WE GET INTO▸ Getting fired at 7 months pregnant and starting over the next morning▸ The department emails she made up when it was still only her▸ Why you need degrees of separation between you and your clients▸ Building 100+ email templates before hiring anybody▸ "We invite people into our chaos, then get mad when they fail in chaos"▸ Why most people's VA experience goes wrong▸ How she actually got to $800 million in managed ad spend▸ Pitching the NFL on a webinar — and it going all the way to Roger Goodell▸ What COVID did to her retainers, and the pivot that saved the agency▸ The $25K bid vs the $125K bid▸ Why she took pricing off her website▸ Advice for anyone leaving corporate right now▸ "I love my family too much to ever hire them"▸ Niceness vs kindness, and why her team is not a family▸ The two hires she'd make again every single time▸ How to actually get in front of Fortune 500 clients▸ Her rich lesson: the money conversation nobody has with new founders━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━FOLLOW CARRITA CLOUDCreativity Justified━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━RICH LESSONS PODCASTHosted by Sevetri Wilson Taylor and Sheena Allen🎧 LISTEN & SUBSCRIBEApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/40jGSUv...▶️ WATCH & SUBSCRIBE ON YOUTUBE   / @richlessonspodcast  📲 FOLLOW RICH LESSONSInstagram:   / richlessonspodcast  TikTok:   / richlessonspodcast  ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━#RichLessons #BlackWomenInBusiness #AgencyLife #Pricing #KnowYourWorth #Entrepreneurship #MarketingAgency #BlackEntrepreneurs #WomenFounders #SmallBusiness #BusinessSystems #NFL #BusinessPodcast #FounderStory #Fortune500