This episode is said to be our season finale (allegedly) and Shireen is flying solo without Charles. She is happily joined by one of her best friends, content creator, free diving mermaid and travel aficionado Rene Daniella, known on social media as @ownbyfemme. Shireen gives her guest her flowers, complimenting how intentional Rene is about posting on social media. Rene takes us through her journey to becoming an influencer. She studied broadcast journalism and was working for a PR firm in NYC. She did a shoot that she felt self conscious about but it was during a time when natural/curly hair was a thing, so it picked up traction (1:23-8:01). Fast forward to Rene living in Paris during grad school. She gave herself a year; if she couldn't build up a significant enough following and brand partnerships to stay afloat, she would go back to NYC. Rene mentions how the support of her family/parents really helpd get her through some struggle times in her 20s. Maxing out credit cards and borrowing from her parents helped her get the start she needed. The foundation she had is one that she is immensely grateful for. After returning to NY Rene made friends with more Black travel content creators and she was off to the races. She was hired to host a travel series for YouTube and moved to Colombia for 6mo. That's when she knew she could do it full time in the states (14:54-20:06). Rene says blind faith is really what has propelled her forward in the content space. At the root of all her desires is freedom to travel. Shireen asks about failures vs successes and Rene mentions the ups and downs since 2020. The pandemic halted most of her travel plans so she wound up staying in the UK with her parents for many months. Rene recalls not having as many deals during that time but once they picked up, she was able to buy a house in 2022. She takes pride in being able to afford the lifestyle she dreamed about, all from her earnings from brand partnerships on social media. People are fnally starting to see how lucrative it is to curate branded content that way(21:14-29:08). Rene is fulfilled by the community she's created online and shares that keeping up with people online through shared interests is a talent in itself. Shireen then shifts the convo to home ownership and the woes of draining your resources. Rene mentions how Rocket Money(not an ad) has helped her manage her budget better, so that there is less frivolous spending. She shared how 2023 she was on a weight loss journey, so the content focus was on that and home decor. How you feel about yourself, your body, being in front of the camera impacts how you share content. Rene's secret to success appears to be blind faith, personal deadlines and pushing through insecurities to find something creative to get passionate about. Social media is a culmination of everyone's wins, but rarely do any come without a bunch of unseen losses. She's an expert at capturing "the moment" and then putting her phone away to actually enjoy it. We could all take some notes on that! (32:03-40:19)