Support is Sexy

After years of building a career in leadership positions in corporate America, Denise Harris -- a native of my hometown of Lakeview, Long Island in New York -- decided that it was time. She could no longer deny that burning passion she had to offer executive training and coaching services, so she signed up for a coaching course of her own while still working full-time. But once she started, she couldn't stop, and neither did her clients, who started to flow into her by referrals.

On this episode of the Support is Sexy podcast, Denise talks about how to know when you're onto something, how to get over imposter syndrome, how to quiet your inner critic and how to remove the idea that the road to your happiness "has to be hard."

On this episode you'll learn:

How to pay attention to the signs and be self-aware enough to know that you're on the right track.Getting over the misconception that it has to be hard before you can be happy.The power of masterminds and how they work.As a go-getter, what happens when you stop?How to identify what gets in the way.How to quiet the inner critic in your head that tries to keep you safe and comfortable.How to feel the fear and do it anyway.3 important ways to help you get "unstuck."What stops many of us from moving forward.The importance of celebrating the wins along the way.Subscribe to Support is Sexy podcast on iTunes or on Stitcher Radio!

Thank you for listening! And hey, if you love it, click here to leave us a Rating & Review on iTunes!

Show notes, links, contacts and resources for this episode may be found at supportissexypodcast.com.

[Music: "Easy" by SPCZ]

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Joanne Roberts gives props to the feminist movement for giving her the guts to go after her dreams of working in the television industry -- just as her father had -- after years she spent as a Kindergarten teacher. Teaching wasn't her passion, but it was what she thought she was supposed to do, the kind of work women did at the time. But when her then-husband got a job in L.A. and they relocated to the West coast, Joanne went for it, realizing the time was now!

After getting her show on television and building an Internet company, the bubble bursts in more ways than one. On this episode, Joanne talks about boldly pursuing your dream, recovering from failure, redefining entrepreneurship, reinventing yourself and discovering what's now and what's next!

On this episode you'll learn:

Recognizing now is the time!Knowing that failing doesn't mean that you're a failure.Finding new ways to be your own entrepreneur.How to tap into what's next.How to connect the dots of your experience to inform your reinvention.How to brave enough to ask the question: "What's now, what's next?"Realizing that thoughts become thingsThe value of taking risks.Start with the end result in mind

Subscribe to Support is Sexy podcast on iTunes or on Stitcher Radio!

Thank you for listening! And hey, if you love it, please click here to leave us a Rating & Review on iTunes!

Show notes, links, contacts and resources for this episode may be found at supportissexypodcast.com.

[Music: "Easy" by SPCZ]

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What's not to love about a great glass of wine? And for sommelier and The Vine Wine Club owner Benita Johnson, what's not to love about entrepreneurship? Though it's not as glamorous as most may think and you may not be rolling in dough, Benita says she was drawn to the freedom entrepreneurship offered? And even though she may have experienced more "stability" by sticking with her 9-to-5 job as an accountant, she wouldn't trade entrepreneurship for anything.

On this episode of Support is Sexy, Benita talks about making the leap into entrepreneurship, how to know when it's time to move on, how to know when to say yes, and how to reinvent your business and reach your audience in brand new ways.

On this episode, you'll learn:

How to know when it's time to make the leap into entrepreneurship.How to choose the perfect wine.How to develop your palette.Tips on negotiating your commercial real estate lease.How to know when to walk away from a deal or business venture.How to reinvent your business.The importance of paying attention to the things people keep asking you advice about when you're creating your new venture.Why you have to decide every single day to be an entrepreneur.How to get through the dry seasons in business.

Subscribe to Support is Sexy podcast on iTunes or on Stitcher Radio!

Thank you for listening! And hey, if you love it, please click here to leave us a Rating & Review on iTunes!

[Music: "Easy" by SPCZ]

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Sharene Wood is an unapologetic Harlem girl through and through. Since she was a kid, she says she was a "loud little leader," who always knew she was meant to be in charge and that she would someday open her own business , although she wasn't certain of her passion or what kind of business she would be led to at the time. When her boyfriend, Guy, asked her to help him out in 1982 with his biz idea that she had, the pre-law major said "yes," and 5001 Flavors was born from Sharene's Columbia University dorm room as she banged out correspondence on a typewriter.

Today, Sharene and her husband/business partner Guy -- that boyfriend from her college days -- are celebrating their 25th year of 5001 Flavors, a custom clothing company that has worked with an endless list of celebrities celebrities, from Beyonce and Blue Ivy's Salt N Pepa Halloween costumes to looks for David Beckham, Lady Gaga, Missy Elliott and more. The couple is also celebrating the fifth anniversary of their latest family venture, Harlem Haberdashery, which is a chic boutique in Sharene's old stomping grounds that is with a beautiful brownstone that a unique historical significance: It is the former home of civil rights leader Malcolm X.

On this episode of the Support is Sexy podcast, Sharene talks about the importance of charting your own history and making an impact in your community while building a family business, creating transferable wealth , and establishing a legacy that will live on for generations.

On this episode, you'll learn:

How to be mindful of the way we cultivating leadership in our girls.Getting real about the risks and rewards of entrepreneurship.Selling fashion as a service.The importance of giving back to the community you're within.Her advice for working with family.Why you can't bring mental baggage into what it means to work with family.How to build your business and your brands through referrals.The key skill she believes lead to success in entrepreneurship.Why you have to remain focused on the next client while serving the current one.What she's learned about owning a brick and mortar boutique.The importance of creating transferable wealth and building a legacy.

Subscribe to Support is Sexy podcast on iTunes or on Stitcher Radio!

Thank you for listening! And hey, if you love it, please click here to leave us a Rating & Review on iTunes!

Show notes, links, contacts and resources for this episode may be found at supportissexypodcast.com.

[Music: "Easy" by SPCZ]

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Don't get overwhelmed by your long list of to-dos or the goals that you have that can sometimes seem insurmountable. Instead, get focused! And do so by focusing on that first domino, the one that will, once it has the right tilt and the right momentum as a result of your hard work and intention, will fall and knock over another, and another, and another, and they get bigger, and bigger, and bigger. On this episode, I talk about how to get focused on the first domino, avoid overwhelm, and spark that chain reaction that will take you to the next level!

Subscribe to Support is Sexy podcast on iTunes or on Stitcher Radio!

Thank you for listening! And hey, if you love it, please click here to leave us a Rating & Review on iTunes!

Show notes, links, contacts and resources for this episode may be found at supportissexypodcast.com.

[Music: "Easy" by SPCZ]

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For Vonne Williams, it was her proximity to a few one-hit wonders that led her on the path of creating her own financial consulting firm, Activate Increase. While working in the studio as an audio/visual expert years before starting her business, she witnessed several music artists who were blowing their money as if it would never run out -- but it did. Vonne noticed the same is true for many athletes who are sadly broke by the time they retire.

Today, Vonne's company offers tax preparation, small business accounting and, something she loves most, financial abundance to everyday people to help them avoid the one-hit wonder track. On this episode of the Support is Sexy podcast, Vonne shares how we can shift our mindset from scarcity to abundance, how being a good steward of our money lifts us in other areas of our lives, the difficult lesson she learned when life happened and caught her out there unprepared, and why twerking taught her how to learn to let go. :)

On this episode you'll learn:

What does it mean to have a scarcity mindset vs an abundance mindset.How to adopt an abundance mindset.How being a good steward of your finances leads to abundance in other areas of your life.The importance of setting up your financial life so you can have freedom of choice in your future.Common money mistake most of us make.The hard lesson Vonne learned about managing her own money.How to prepare yourself for the moments when life happens.Simple tools to help you, as an entrepreneur, track your spending.How to get your masculine energy in check.Why you need to give yourself permission to let go.And the importance of giving yourself permission to stop.How opening yourself up to support leads to abundance.

Subscribe to Support is Sexy podcast on iTunes or on Stitcher Radio!

Thank you for listening! And hey, if you love it, please click here to leave us a Rating & Review on iTunes!

Show notes, links, contacts and resources for this episode may be found at supportissexypodcast.com.

[Music: "Easy" by SPCZ]

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Kierna Mayo has always been about her crew -- a group of women who had her back and were a part of her tribe. Her world included the powerful influences of hip hop culture, dance, style, art, her hometown of Brooklyn and New York City, which not only shaped her childhood and high school years, but also shaped her evolution as a storyteller.

Today, Kierna is arguably one of the leading voices of the culture, having been an early hip hop journalist at a time when many people were still questioning the validity of the music and even more so the spaces that women would occupy, a co-founder of honey magazine, leading the resurgence of Ebony magazine and its web site, and now serving as Senior VP of multimedia company Interactive One and appearing regularly to offer cultural commentary on CNN.

On this episode of the Support is Sexy podcast, Kierna tells her story of trusting her gut, creating her own lane in the fast-changing world of media, learning to forgive yourself for the perceived missteps and business failures, and why Black women, especially, need to be flexible, tenacious, determined to evolve and at times, angry.

On this episode you'll learn:

The unspoken dynamic of how to navigate fame among friends.How to recognized when you're on the right path.How to hold your own and pronounce your voice in a room full of men.How challenges help sharpen your knife.How to create a lane for yourself in unfamiliar territory.Redefining your own success.The importance of learning to forgive ourselves.Her advice for aspiring writers and editors today.The job of a writer.How to be READY when someone asks you for your work.What it means to be a storyteller today.The importance of being flexible, evolving and not getting stuck, especially in the anger.Your success is not your whole story.How to move beyond the fears and shame of business failure.There's a time to be in the light and there's a time to be in the lab.

Subscribe to Support is Sexy podcast on iTunes or on Stitcher Radio!

Thank you for listening! And hey, if you love it, please click here to leave us a Rating & Review on iTunes!

[Music: "Easy" by SPCZ]

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The seeds for entrepreneurship were planted in Detroit native Reagan Gomez when she was just 14 years old. It was on the set of the 1990 TV show The Parenthood, as the young actress observed her co-star, Robert Townsend, not only work in front of the camera, but take on roles behind the camera as a writer, director and producer. Reagan was already in love with acting -- having began performing in local theater in Philly before the family moved to LA in support of her career -- but at that point she knew that being the creator of her own projects were going to be a part of her journey.

That was in 1994. Today, Reagan has more then 20 years in the business not only as a working actress (one of her latest roles was on OWN's Queen Sugar) but also as a writer, director, producer and creator of her own work -- including the web series Almost Home and Surviving (which was nominated for a Gotham Award), and her own podcast, Reaganomics. On this episode of the Support is Sexy podcast, Reagan gets real about what it takes to survive in Hollywood without anyone else's permission, how politics have affected our nation and her own world, what her evolution has taught her about herself as a woman and what she chooses to teach her daughter about feminism and the power of resistance, standing up for yourself and using your voice -- and your platform -- to change the world.

On this episode you'll learn:

The importance of teaching our girls to be confident and vocal.How to give our girls space to express themselves.Her advice to her younger self as an actress.How to survive the Hollywood machine.Why creating your own content is important.Why she feels it's so important for Black and marginalized women to create content.How to utilize social media to support your content and connect.How to build your tribe.How to trust your gut.And the importance of discovering how self-care works for you.

Subscribe to Support is Sexy podcast on iTunes or on Stitcher Radio!

Thank you for listening! And hey, if you love it, please click here to leave us a Rating & Review on iTunes!

Show notes, links, contacts and resources for this episode may be found at supportissexypodcast.com.

[Music: "Easy" by SPCZ]

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Growing up in Haiti and later as a teenager in the US, Marie Jean-Baptise always knew she wanted to create something different, although she didn't know what that something was. There was a part of her that dreamt of be a fashion designer -- or an Alvin Ailey dancer. After designing her first collection at age 18 and landing an internship with one of her fashion idols, Lemington Ridley, she decided fashion was her true love.

Today, as an e-commerce fashion entrepreneur, Marie has a gorgeous fashion line, Rue 107, that she has been building since 2011, and is beloved by fashionistas of all sizes. Marie speaks candidly on the Support is Sexy podcast about bootstrapping out of necessity, how to connect with your customer, her vision for developing Rue 107 into a truly size-inclusive brand and how to move beyond the loneliness of entrepreneurship.

On this episode, you'll learn:

The importance of testing.Why you have to develop a service mindset.How not having access to capital can benefit you.The challenge of having a straight and plus-size line.The reality of being one of few Black women designers in fashion.The lesson she learned about "black" and "urban" brands.The fashion business is not designed for WOC to win.What she learned about hiring and firing people.Why you shouldn't put people on a pedestal in business.Greatest misconception people have about fashion design.Why social media does not equate to sales.Don't get too attached to your product.Why you can not operate from a space of fear and should always leave room for growth.Subscribe to Support is Sexy podcast on iTunes or on Stitcher Radio!

Thank you for listening! And hey, if you love it, please click here to leave us a Rating & Review on iTunes!

Show notes, links, contacts and resources for this episode may be found at supportissexypodcast.com.

[Music: "Easy" by SPCZ]

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Nowadays it's easy for us to get caught up in who's watching, right? We put our work out there, share it, post it, tweet it, and wait for the likes, loves, reposts and retweets to pour in. Hopefully some money, too!

What we have to remember, though, is there will be days -- plenty of days -- when there won't be any "celebrations" of the work we're doing. No one will know what you're going through to make that thing happen, to get it out there in the world. In those moments, you know what you have to do? Do the work when no one is watching.

It's easy to shine when you're standing in the light. On this episode I offer some advice on how to stay motivated, even in the dark!

Subscribe to Support is Sexy podcast on iTunes or on Stitcher Radio!

Thank you for listening! And hey, if you love it, please click here to leave us a Rating & Review on iTunes!

Show notes, links, contacts and resources for this episode may be found at supportissexypodcast.com.

[Music: "Easy" by SPCZ]

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