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VIP LEADERSHIP
CONTENTS 7
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF PASHA CARTER
8
VIP GLOBAL MAGAZINE: About Us
10
MEET OUR CONTRIBUTORS
CODIE & TOMMY OLIVER 36 Creators of OWN’s groundbreaking docu-series BLACK LOVE on why this project was necessary
46
MARTY MCDONALD How one woman brought hundreds of top businesswomen to the table
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6 WAYS TO OVERCOME BUSINESS FAILURE AND THRIVE
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CHERI TREE & ESTHER WILDENBERG Helping others take it to the B.A.N.K.
60
MEET THE CARTERS Vision for VIP Global Magazine
VIP KIDS
68
ANAIS & MIRABELLE LEE Could they be the next set of twins to take Hollywood by storm?
74
CELAI WEST How she went from model to mogul and how you can, too
78
DANIEL BISSONNETTE 15-YEAR-OLD Turned Success Coach
VIP MONEY & BUSINESS
14
KEVIN HARRINGTON A SHARK TANK Original Investor on turning a crisis into cash flow
20
DEONNA MONIQUE How she made nearly $1 million in 24 hours
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MALCOLM LEMMONS From the Locker Room to the Boardroom
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A GUIDE TO INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
VIP COVER STORY 82
NICOLE MANGRUM OPRAH’S PERSONAL HAIRSTYLIST talks entrepreneurship
VIP INSPIRATION
134
A MYSTERIOUS DISEASE PARALYZED HER: WHAT SHE DID NEXT WILL SHOCK YOU
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10 WAYS TO BUILD YOUR SELF-CONFIDENCE AS A WOMAN
VIP LIST
92
20 TOP INFLUENCERS WHO ARE CHANGING THE GAME
VIP HEALTH & FITNESS
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SENADA GRECA Push your limits and stand in your purpose
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ARE YOUR HAIR PRODUCTS HURTING YOU?
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TANJIE BREWER on what working out and staying active has taught her
MAGAZINE
PUBLISHER AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Pasha Carter
VIP BOOKS
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BOOKS FOR ENTREPRENEURS 15 MUST-READ BOOKS for Entrepreneurs
VIP CELEBRITY NEWS
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WHEN CELEBRITY AND ACTIVISM MEET
MANAGING EDITOR Ann Marie Bryan CONTRIBUTORS Tanjie Brewer Bindu A. Chowritmootoo Stacey Hylen Melanye Maclin Kimra Major-Morris Georgette Pierre Courtney Runyon Ceirra Smith
editor's letter
Introducing
GLOBAL MAGAZINE
Your journey to success starts here.
I
t is an absolute pleasure to welcome you to the premiere issue of VIP Global Magazine, a quarterly business publication designed specifically for you— business owners, leaders, and entrepreneurs. We are providing the ultimate resource with actionable advice and strategies from top entrepreneurs, trend-setters, influencers, and celebrities all over the world.
No matter where you are on your entrepreneurial journey, VIP Global Magazine is the go-to resource to take your business to the next level. Our content will empower you to achieve unimagined possibilities. Inside our pages, you’ll find valuable information and inspiration to help you turn your businesses into industry-leading organizations. Despite the unfortunate realities of the Covid-19 pandemic, now is the greatest time in history to be a self-starter—especially if you’re operating a digital business. VIP Global Magazine is a blueprint for those wanting to gain leadership skills, earn substantial income, and excel in business. We’re providing content to help today’s entrepreneurs become tomorrow’s influential business leaders. Creating this magazine has been an exciting project. We wanted to get it right for you. Enjoy our first issue and let us know if there are any topics you’d like to see covered in the future. This is just the beginning. We have much more in store for you. Stay tuned! All the very best for 2021.
Pasha Carter 7
money & business
magazine VIP GLOBAL MAGAZINE is a business media outlet that brings entrepreneurial resources to the forefront of digital media. Our content encourages aspiring creators and entrepreneurs to apply actionable advice and develop small businesses into industry-leading organizations. We feature everything business owners, entrepreneurs, and leaders want to know about creating, marketing, and maintaining profitable companies. No matter where you are on your entrepreneurial journey, VIP GLOBAL MAGAZINE is the go-to resource for anyone looking to take their business to the next level.
Contact and advertising inquiries:
info@vipglobalmagazine.com Visit and subscribe:
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money & business
Meet Our
Tanjie Brewer
Personal Trainer & Nutritionist
T
anjie Brewer's award-winning programs and fresh perspective towards fitness and wellness, has transformed the lives and bodies of countless women and men around the globe. She is a Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutritionist, Author, Motivational Speaker, Wardrobe Stylist, and CEO of Stylish and Fit. She has an unrelenting passion to see others rock their purpose with vitality and increase their esteem for a lifetime.
stylishandfit.com
Bindu A. Chowritmootoo
B
Life & Career Coach
indu is an entrepreneur, writer, motivational speaker, and certified life and career coach. She is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Ignite It, LLC, a company built on women’s empowerment initiatives. Bindu is also the Founder and President of Precise Venture Consulting, LLC, a company that offers full service start up, operational management and business development services. She began her professional career in Boston, MA, and is currently a resident of Frisco, Texas.
ignititacademy.com
Stacey Hylen
S
Business Optimizer Coach
tacey Hylen is an award-winning business coach, author, and speaker. She was named International Coach of the Year in 2016 and was Vice President of Consulting for Chet Holmes’ and Anthony Robbins’ world-renowned Business Mastery Program. Stacey helps ambitious entrepreneurs with mindset, marketing, and sales strategies, to get more clients, more profits and to add a zero to their business without the hustle, so they can have the lifestyle and freedom they want.
StaceyHylen.com
Melanye Maclin, M.D
M
Dermatologist
elanye Maclin, M.D., aka ‘Dr. Mac,’ is a celebrity dermatologist who is passionate about educating the masses on skin and hair via multimedia. She has appeared on several outlets including The Steve Harvey Morning Show, Sirius XM, Radio One, WHUR (Frankski, Weekends with Ed Gordon, Daily Drum), FOX DC News, Chris Rock’s film Good Hair, Rock Newman TV, Sister 2 Sister, and Hype Hair magazine, for which she is also the Medical Director. Dr. Mac is the CEO/President and Research Development Dermatologist for Innovative Hair Technology, Inc. which she founded in September 1999.
drmaclin.com 10
vipglobalmagazine.com
Contributors Ceirra Smith
Freelance Writer
C
eirra Smith is a twenty-something adventurer who grew up traversing the globe, first through the pages of books, and then in reality. She’s currently a freelance writer and ghostwriter for businesses, influencers, and several magazines including SheKnows, Essence, and Black Enterprise. Ceirra's a lover of Jamaican food, romance novels, and online shopping. When she’s not surrounding herself with words, you can find her baking cookies or exploring nature with her fur baby Sasha.
@cc_smitty
Georgette Pierre
G
Producer and VO artist
eorgette Pierre is an Emmy-Award winning producer, multimedia personality, and voice over artist. She’s worked in media for over 10 years, having started in radio then moving into TV production with the likes of VH1, MTV, Nickelodeon, and more. She’s also written for Entertainment Weekly, MTV News, VH1.com, Blavity, and Killer Boombox. She's currently creating and producing digital content through her company imprint, M.Y.S. Productions.
georgettepierre.com
Courtney Runyon
C
Personal Trainer & Nutritionist
ourtney Runyon is a motivational speaker, international best-selling author, and transformational coach. As an autoimmune survivor, she has inspired millions through her social media, and her story won an Emmy in 2018. She is currently traveling the world exploring different ways to heal, while organizing speaking gigs, women’s retreats, and coaching fighters how to navigate through mental and physical health struggles.
courtneyrunyon.com
Kimra Major-Morris,Esq.
K
Intellectual Property Attorney
imra Major-Morris is an award-winning intellectual property attorney licensed to practice in Florida, a nationally published author on the subject of trademarks, and the television host of “Legal Connections” in conjunction with FAMU College of Law and Orange TV. Her firm, Major-Morris Law, is located in Central Florida and advocates for the intellectual property rights of global brand owners including international music artists, tv personalities, professional athletes and entertainment industry executives.
majormorrislaw.com vipglobalmagazine.com
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MENTOR to MILLIONS Secrets of Success in Business, Relationships, and Beyond
By Kevin Harrington & Mark Timm
bestseller
Are you ready to achieve success professionally and fulfillment personally?
Click and GET YOUR COPY
Visit mentortomillionsbook.com
money & business
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money & business
COMBATING PANDEMIC PARALYSIS
Kevin
HARRINGTON A Shark Tank Original Investor on the Most Effective Ways to Turn a Crisis into Cash Flow Interview by The Carters
Last year, nearly 30 million people were out of work due to the Covid-19 pandemic and several thousand brick and mortar businesses closed their doors. Many Americans found themselves in unpredictable situations and needed advice and inspiration to continue actively pursuing their goals.
A
longside our daughter, Jayla, an aspiring entrepreneur, Steve and I sat down with our good friend and fellow business extraordinaire, Kevin Harrington. You may recognize Kevin as an original Shark on the incredibly successful business reality show Shark Tank, but he is also creator of the infomercial, key contributor to launching the As Seen on TV brand, worldwide speaker, and investor in his own right. Kevin is a savvy businessman with nearly four decades of experience helping entrepreneurs develop and expand their inventions. He has launched over 700 products and built numerous companies.
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During our interview, Kevin spoke about the importance of multiple sources of income, capitalizing on the indefinite downtime, and his new book, Mentor to Millions: Secrets of Success in Business, Relationships, and Beyond. PASHA: Being one of the pioneers and one of the first on Shark Tank, what was that like and how do you think the show has evolved? KEVIN: I’ve been shooting television infomercials for 38 years, so it’s not like when I got to Shark Tank, I wasn’t familiar with the camera or the process—but I shot low budget infomercials. Now on Shark Tank, I
showed up on set, and it was on a Sony movie lot. We were in a 50,000 sq ft studio with 60-foot ceilings, 16 cameras, and a million-dollar set. I’m like, ‘Wow! I’ve never spent a million dollars on an entire infomercial, let alone a million dollars on building an entire set.’ This was first class. The show was going to be on ABC Network; this was prime time network television, as good as it gets. It was pretty cool to be a part of that. As with any job, there are aspects employees don’t like or would rather not do. I recalled feeling apathetic and indifferent about some products during the first few seasons
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Entrepreneurs and those who are interested in establishing direct selling businesses need to look for the right opportunities and make those deals now.
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money & business of Shark Tank. However, at the end of the day, we were conscious that the show is a television production that depends on public interest. PASHA: Tell us more about your Shark Tank days, and the successes you’ve had because of the show. KEVIN: There was one downside in the earlier years of Shark Tank, and that is the quality of the deals and the pitches were not as good as I would have liked. I’m an entrepreneur and would go to trade shows and take pictures, and I saw exciting enough products. I’ve invested in over 700 deals over a number of years. When I got to Shark Tank, I was like ‘Wait a minute, where’s the good stuff?’ I was taken aback during Seasons One and Two—they didn’t have a lot of really good stuff. I actually had to invest in things that I didn’t necessarily think we’re going to be the biggest winners.
the outlandish, mundane, and just plain awful product ideas to discover potential goldmines. I’ve done tens of millions of dollars with the products I’ve invested in on Shark Tank. One of the projects that have been wildly successful is Scrub Daddy. Laurie Grenier had that product originally. Now, I have a really powerful Amazon business, so I ended up with the rights for Scrub Daddy for Amazon.
One day we were filming and did Being a Shark was really cool because seven segments and nobody, not we were in a great publicity machine one Shark, had made a deal. Mark that has helped build our brands. When Burnett [the executive producer] said, I go around the country speaking at ‘Hey guys if you don’t invest, we’re different events, it’s a global brand. not going to have a good TV show, It’s the number one business reality show in the history and we’re not going of television. They to get good ratings. are in Season 11 Start putting your now and will be filmmoney up.’ We were Don’t rely on ing Season 12 soon. like, ‘Mark, which one income stream. one of those deals PASHA: The last would you actually You need to have deal you called put your own money into? Let’s see some extra income streams me about seemed good, but I was good stuff.’ The next in your life. unsure. It turned segment, we had a out to be a hot big contest between commodity last us, and we ended up investing, but not necessarily year. Do you remember what because we wanted to, but we had to. that was? The reality is, there are some products that have had amazing successes. However, some great ideas may not be marketable or unique enough to appeal to consumers. I have mastered the balancing act of sifting through 16
KEVIN: Was it the toilet paper project? I told you to jump into toilet paper. You never know why things come around. I saw Dollar Shave Club take off; Michael Dubin sold it for $1 Billion. A young guy came to me
and said, ‘I want to do the same thing they did for razors for toilet paper,’ and it was a great concept—just a little too early for its time. Now look what has happened in the market. Any roll of toilet paper you can get your hands on, you can make money on. It’s gold. STEVE: What do you suggest to the everyday, average person who now understands that life forces you to pivot? KEVIN: I’m a big believer in things happening for a reason and I believe this is a reset for a lot of people. Exactly what we’re doing right now, talking to experts and mentors. People should be checking their lives and asking, ‘Who is my mentor?’ Everyone should be reaching out to their mentors if they have one. If they don’t, now is the time to get one. Tough times often provide learning opportunities that help prevent similar mistakes from happening in the future. I experienced business catastrophe several years ago, and because I nearly lost everything, I decided to operate my multimillion-dollar company more efficiently. PASHA: Tell us more about that crisis and how it caused you to pivot. KEVIN: Thirty years ago, I had a major crisis in my business that vipglobalmagazine.com
money & business happened because of the Gulf War. I had hundreds of employees and overnight my business went down 90%. I was doing 100 million dollars a year in sales, and suddenly it went to almost zero. We were in a turmoil like I’d never seen before. What we went through at that time prepared me for this season. I had buildings, overhead costs, 500 employees, a production studio, a warehouse full of inventory—I had all this stuff and had to sell a bunch of assets. We came out of it okay, eventually; but I said, ‘When the next one hits, I’m going to be ready.’ Consequently, I don’t have tons of overhead and 500 employees. I have less than a dozen total people running my multimillion-dollar business. I contract out everything to keep my overhead costs low. When I came out of that Gulf War crisis in 1990, I released my first book, The 100 Best Spare-Time Business Opportunities Today. People were asking, ‘How do I get other income?’ I’ve been saying to people for 30 years, don’t rely on one income stream. You need to have extra income streams in your life. I have 25 income streams in my life now because when I had one and it stopped, I almost didn’t survive it. PASHA: Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, many households and businesses are struggling right now. People need tips on how they can learn from this unfortunate event and improve their circumstances going forward.
At the end of the day, creating your product is actually the easiest part.
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money & business KEVIN: There are a couple things people should be doing: 1. Tune in to all kinds of information. Podcasts, webinars, etc. I’ve been doing two or three a day and I’ve been attending them as well. I’ve been listening to some pretty powerful people because I want to make sure I’m in tune with what everyone is doing. 2. People should be looking at their personal finances. Maybe get a line of credit if they can. If they own homes, talk to their bankers to get lower interest rates. Just recently, the interest rate on one of my loans dropped by two points. I asked my wife to go through our credit card statements, and she found 15 different auto bills, and she didn’t even know what they were. Twenty dollars for this and that adds up to three or four hundred a month. In a year, that’s almost five grand and you don’t even know what you’re getting for it. Now is the time to cleanse financial misdeeds, mistakes, and overpayments—renegotiate. It’s important. 3. Overhaul your website. Maybe you built a website several years ago. If your website doesn’t target a group of potential customers, now is the time to do it. Get all of your digital things figured out. The world is moving in that direction, and it is forcing a lot of companies to explore digital relationships. If someone goes to your website and it’s not optimized for mobile, they’re going to leave your site. They don’t want to do business with people who can’t give a good web experience. 4. Databases are valuable assets in a company. Start understanding what assets you have and assemble them. Communicate with people and start creating content on a regular basis. Use the time to connect and make new relationships. I’m hearing from some people who I haven’t heard from in years. They’re connecting with me and now we’re starting new conversations. Check your phone and email lists to see who you can connect with. PASHA: That’s what we’ve been telling people, if you’re not figuring out how to build your brand or monetize your business online, you’re missing the boat. I feel like working remotely is not a trend, it’s here to stay. Companies with employees who are working remotely are lowering their overhead costs and people are adapting to the new normal. 18
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money & business STEVE: This has been like an adult KEVIN: I’ve been involved in skincare time out. We are all forced to sit for 30+ years and it's very competdown and really look at where itive. How are you going to position things are in our lives. It has al- the product line? What is the unique lowed me to catch up on emails, aspect of your skincare line? How conversations, and past deal pro- are you going to market it? Are you posals. I suggest that everybody going to use influencers, or are you do that and recognize that this going to be demonstrating it yourself? is a digital world. Imagine if the At the end of the coronavirus had day, creating your hit us 10 years ago product is actualNow is the time when the internet ly the easiest part. wasn’t as popular. to cleanse financial Many people have People would be same ideas, and misdeeds, mistakes, the freaking out even there are a lot of cemore than they are and overpayments- lebrities with their today. Thank God own skincare lines. renegotiate. for Wi-Fi! We can Have a unique prodstill operate our uct, unique positionbusinesses from ing, a very powerful our laptops. We can all practice demo, and magical transformations social distancing with no prob- to set yourself apart. These are some lems and people who have never of the things you need to think about considered at home businesses when you’re developing your skinare forced to explore the option. care line. KEVIN: Yes, now is the time to be in the direct selling business. Look for products that might be conducive. One of my companies did a million dollars in one day on Amazon. Up until then, it had never done more than $100,000 a day. Entrepreneurs and those who are interested in establishing direct selling businesses need to look for the right opportunities and make those deals now. PASHA: Our message to people is to add other income streams that makes sense to their portfolio right now while they’re at home. Instead of going into their shells and watching Netflix. KEVIN: Absolutely. If you plant seeds during this time, when you come out of all of this, those seeds will grow into trees. JAYLA: I’m interested in launching a skincare line. What’s your advice on how to sit down, plan that out, and actually start it? vipglobalmagazine.com
PASHA: People are panicking right now. What is your advice to give people hope and keep them going in the right direction? KEVIN: Don’t lose hope. There will be an end to this pandemic. Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, and be with your family. The financial markets are not seeing this as an end to business or an end to society. We are going to come out of this stronger than ever. People are looking for help, guidance, and someone to talk to, so be that person for them. Don’t be the one who’s freaking out. I believe there will be a surge—a pent up demand. People will be buying, buying, buying. For those who are in the direct selling business, this is a really good opportunity to show people how to use products and make some money along the way. Remain calm. The world is not coming to an end. We’re going to survive. Now is the time to plant the seeds for the future. If you don’t
have an extra income business, you need to start one right now. PASHA: What’s next for you? KEVIN: My life in is three pods. 1. I still have a dozen products in Walgreens, Walmart, Target, HSN, and QVC. My product business is holding up. 2. I have a speaking business that I do all over the world. That has taken a hit, but a lot of events are being rescheduled. 3. I have investments in 25 companies. Some are hurting a little; some are going crazy. It’s going to level off and continue after Covid-19. 4. Lastly, my new book Mentor to Millions was released in September 2020. The message in the book is that you need a mentor. If you don’t have one, go get one. Pasha and Steve, you two are great mentors who have provided help to a lot of people. If there’s anyone out there looking for someone like me, I’m happy to talk with them and see if I can help. Now is the time to be proactive! Reassess your business strategies and finances, start a new project, increase your network, and spend time learning from experienced business professionals. Applying these actions will position you for success. How you come out of the pandemic depends on the seeds you plant today.
Visit:
kevinharrington.tv
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Deonna
MONIQUE
OWNER of BOHO EXOTIC HOW SHE
MADE NEARLY
A MILLION DOLLARS IN 24 HOURS
& HER MISSION TO HELP ASPIRING ENTREPRENEURS.
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D
Studio
eonna Monique started like most entrepreneurs, feeling unfulfilled while working a regular job. She had many ideas for a business, but never focused on developing one specific product. That all changed when she started posting hair videos on YouTube. “I made videos wearing hair extensions, and the very first video I posted on YouTube got 30,000 views overnight,” Monique explains. “I was like, ‘Oh my God. This is it.’ I wasn’t promoting my own product, but that video gave me a glimpse of how impactful my brand could be. One week later, I quit my job and started Boho Exotic Studio. I believed my goals would manifest themselves and be larger than I ever imagined.”
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own. The experience was life-changing, but it gave me new ideas to consider. That’s what I love about entrepreneurship; I can challenge myself to make my business better. Who did you first contact to promote Boho Exotic Studio products? I got in touch with Kim Johansen, a local I knew from YouTube, to model my hair. She not only posted a photo on Instagram wearing my extensions, but she also made a YouTube video about how much she loved them. Celebrity hairstylists and stars who followed her began to follow me, then I started getting emails from Essence, Vogue, and other top magazines. Her credibility in the beauty and hair industry gave me a major lift, and it happened because I asked her to model my hair. Nevertheless, if she had said no, I was confident that someone else would say yes and put my extensions on their platform. What are three major keys to building a successful business? Deonna spills the tea on how she launched her successful hair company and once made nearly $1 million in just a single day. She breaks down her journey and shares the top three secrets to success as an entrepreneur. Get inspired and, above all, take action!
I had faith in God’s plan for my life and allowed Him to open doors for me.
What is the motivation behind your tremendous work ethic? I spent years working to create revenue for someone else. Why wouldn’t I work harder and have just as much dedication to my own company? I have a sense of urgency where my business is concerned, because I value every customer. Excellent service and quality products are why I get repeat customers, referrals, celebrity clientele, and national attention. Every order helps me to provide for my child, and keeps my entrepreneurial dream alive. How did you make almost $1 million selling hair extensions? I paid The Shade Room $1,000 for one post on Instagram. The surge in traffic crashed my website, but we fixed it and thousands of orders were placed that night. I gained more publicity and received more orders than I could have acquired on my
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1. BE YOUR BIGGEST SUPPORTER
I was pregnant, making over $60,000 when I quit my job. My family didn't understand why I wanted my own business. They didn’t believe in my vision for hair extensions, or that I could excel as an entrepreneur. In hindsight, it’s easy to say I’m thankful for adversity because it was an opportunity to grow. However, when those who claimed to love me the most doubted my abilities, it messed with my confidence. I couldn’t rely on my circle to encourage me, so I put my faith in God and trusted that He would lead me on the right path. Business owners can see the “after,” which is why being your own biggest supporter is so important.
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If you’re too stubborn to make improvements, potential customers will order elsewhere. 2. MAKE ALL CRITICISM CONSTRUCTIVE
Negative reviews and complaints told me exactly what I needed to do to better serve my clientele. I only had to listen and make the right changes. As a business owner, it’s your job to turn negatives into positives. Originally, I only sold one type of hair, but through feedback and reviews I was able to expand product selection to over 26 textures, and several hair colors. Take criticism and utilize it to refine your business operations. Rethink, retry, and restock! If you’re too stubborn to make improvements, potential customers will order elsewhere. Changing your mindset and how you respond to negativity will impact your business.
What lessons have you learned from your journey? My journey has been incredible. But I’m just a girl from Dallas who trusted God and believed in her vision. I went from being homeless to making $60,000 at a major company, to running a successful business as a single mom. Through it all, I had faith in God’s plan for my life, and allowed Him to open doors for me. In addition to Boho Exotic Studio, I created Spirit Led, an online ministry,
and wrote two books: Under the Influence: Guide to Getting Celebs in Your Product, and Super Powers: A Saved Entrepreneur’s Manual, to help like-minded entrepreneurs see God as their boss, and teach them to trust Him with their businesses. My goal in life is to share what I’ve learned with aspiring entrepreneurs and help to make their dreams a reality. I truly believe that with God, all things are possible.
3. ASK FOR WHAT YOU WANT
It’s not enough to have a great product. Your job as a business owner is to find your target audience and figure out the best way to market products to them. People will say no and ignore your emails, but you can't let that stop you from moving forward. Instead of focusing on who has the most followers, discover who can promote and represent your product the best. Ask simple questions: "Would you like to do trade work with my product? How much do you charge to post an ad?" Your ability to make money is on the line, so be fearless! Closed mouths don't get fed.
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money & business
money & business
Celebs
who are rocking
Boho Exotic Studio’s
hair extensions
India Love Angela Bassett
Deonna Monique manifested her dreams and so can you. If you love Deonna as much as we do, follow her at Twitter or Instagram @deonnamonique, or visit bohoexoticstudio.com to purchase products.
bohoexoticstudio.com
Normani 24
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money & business
From t he
LOCKER ROOM to t he BOARDROOM Meet MALCOLM LEMMONS, Founder of KLARITY WATCHES
In a time where we have had to pivot and rethink our way forward, Malcolm Lemmons, former pro athlete, is forging ahead and making waves. Malcolm shared exclusively with VIP Global Magazine about his new company, Klarity Watches.
W
e deliver simplistic, well-crafted timepieces that make a positive impact on our culture,” Lemmons says. “Our determination to craft exceptional timepieces along with a passion to bring more empathy and purpose to the world is the foundation of what guides our company today.”
and then shirts and shoes in high school. At 21 years old, Malcolm established his first official business. Although that business failed, he was not deterred. He learned from his mistakes and readily took on the challenge of an even bigger business venture, Klarity Watches. “Entrepreneurship is about taking a huge risk on your future for a vision only you can see,” Lemmons states.
THE DYNAMIC ENTREPRENEUR
He is grateful for the support and the opportunities that have been opened to him since he established Klarity Watches. Malcolm is confident that his days of being a professional athlete prepared him to execute the business of Klarity Watches. “It takes a special type of person to become a successful entrepreneur, and athletes have these intangibles embedded in."
Malcolm hails from Washington, DC. He grew up with his single mom and brother. He was taught at an early age how to be resilient, persistent, and chase what he loves in life. Growing up, Malcolm always had an entrepreneurial spirit. From a young age, he sold candy bars and water bottles in middle school,
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Entrepreneurship is about taking a huge risk on your future for a vision only you can see.
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money & business
“Klarity Watches started because I wanted to combine my passion for watches with a greater mission to give back to my culture and provide a quality product at an affordable price. Our primary target market is black millennials, male and female, but we think our price point is great for any demograph-
process of designing watches for women. Look out for the Mozelle watch for women on the go.
HIS PASSION
ic. Even though we feel like we’re tapping into a niche within a niche, we still feel that watches are great gifts and can appeal to all people.” We learned the unique story behind the company’s name. “Clarity is something that I think many people search for in life and something I wanted for a long time since I’ve retired from basketball,” Lemmons explains. “I think in a time where Today, Klarity offers the Unity Rose there is a lot of unrest and hostility Black Strap and Brown Strap watchin our country – clarity is needed es for men. The Unity Rose is the now more than ever. Using 'K' in- company’s flagship watch which stead of 'C' added a unique spin was designed for business professionals. However, Klarity is pleased on the word.” to announce that it is also in the 28
Basketball has always been Malcolm’s first love, an escape from the pressure of what was happening in his personal life. Since the third grade, he had made up his mind to be a professional athlete. His love for basketball ran deep but Malcolm also saw going pro as a way of fulfilling his dreams. Still, it was not easy for him as there were many challenges to overcome. He was cut from the varsity team in high school and had multiple injuries along the way. However, after graduating from Niagara University with a degree in business management, Malcolm went on to pursue a professional basketball career in Japan.
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“Japan is an amazing country. I sional athlete. According to Mallearned a lot being there for two colm, writing this book was an years and really fell in love with the eye-opener for him as he then culture, people and food. Basket- saw himself as more than an ball-wise, it definitely had its tough athlete. Above all, his writing days and at times, I struggled with journey gave him a renewed being away from home. But it was sense of hope and placed him on one of the best experiences I’ve ever a new trajectory to pursue other had. The biggest lesson I learned opportunities and eventually, to was how to survive. Playing over- walk away from the game. Malcolm believes seas and being that everyone has there for several months can be extremely hard for a It takes a lot of players, and special type of no one is there to hold your hand. person to become You have to fend a successful for yourself and realize that it’s still entrepreneur. a job at the end of the day. Either survive or you don’t get paid.”
a story that can be of value to others. He wrote his story to help others work through their challenges and to remind them that they must keep going to realize their dreams. With more writing experience under his belt, in July 2020, Malcolm released his second book, Impact Beyond the Game: How Athletes Can Build Influence, Monetize Their Brand, and Create a Legacy.
LESSONS FROM THE GAME
Transitioning out of the game of basketball was a struggle for Malcolm. Like most athletes, “sports truly defined who I was. It was all I knew.” Malcolm recalled lacking a mentor to offer guidance during his tenure as a professional athlete. Consequently, he had to navigate through his issues and find solutions. After leaving the game, he was determined to find a new purpose. It was during that season that he discovered the art of writing and the gift of storytelling. In 2017, he published his first book, Lessons from the Game, which detailed his life as an athlete and the important life lessons he learned from playing basketball from elementary school to becoming a profes-
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money & & business business money
It’s a long-term game and you have to stay patient throughout the journey. “Patience is the biggest thing I tell athletes they must have when they transition from the game. You don’t become a great athlete overnight. That took years of your life. Whatever it is you want to do next - you have to approach it in the same way. It’s a long-term game and you have to stay patient throughout the journey.”
MENTORING AND MAKING A DIFFERENCE
From his experience leaving the game, this creative entrepreneur knew he wanted to make a difference in the lives of other athletes. “I deeply believe that every athlete deserves a team who performs just as hard for them off the playing field, as they perform on the playing field.”
Representation matters and to be able to go out and interact with them allows them to really see what’s possible and expand their horizon.”
Along with managing Klarity WatchCOMMUNITY OUTREACH es, Malcolm is all about assisting Frustrated with the number of soathletes to build their personal cial injustices that had taken place brands and prepare for life after this year, Malcolm wanted his next sports. He helps to provide the business to give back to the Black advice and tools necessary for community while hoping to make these athletes to achieve financial Black men feel more valued. Consecurity. Through careful planning sidering this, Klarity Watches was and follow-through, Malcolm enfounded on the desire to create courages athletes to pursue other beautiful watches, but Malcolm was interests outside of their sports. also driven to create an affordable “It’s important to reach back and product that reflected the intrinsic touch the community in some capacvalues of the Black community. ity. It’s cliche but kids are the future, “That’s why we have partnered with and they need to see people who Color of Change to donate a porare successful that look like them. tion of every watch purchased. Our 30
tap on the links above to learn more about Malcolm Lemmons
donation can help combat social injustice in our country.” Malcolm’s greatest hope and mission is “to inspire and elevate under-represented communities. I consider myself lucky and blessed to have experienced everything I have in life and have the opportunities that I have been able to have. It’s my job to pay it forward.”
Learn more about Malcolm Lemmons at
malcolmlemmons.com
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Not sure how to PROTECT YOUR BUSINESS ? Here is a guide to INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS by
Kimra Major-Morris What are your business’ assets? Computers, office furniture, and vehicles are wonderful to own, but we know those things quickly depreciate. This is the main reason why intellectual property is one of the most valuable assets a business can own.
M
ore importantly, licensing intellectual property rights is a great way to create an exit strategy, build generational wealth, and leave a legacy to be proud of. Yet, an overwhelming number of business plans don’t even address intellectual property as a potential asset. A basic understanding of copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, and patents can go a long way, and a lack of understanding can rob future generations.
First, copyrights are unique expressions of ideas in tangible form. The company’s website copy, photos, brand designs, and newsletters are examples of copyrightable content.
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Proprietary processes, formulas, When selecting a strong trademark, be arbitrary. It’s tempting to and mailing lists that are the driving use the name that best describes force of the company’s success you or what you’re selling. Howare potential trade secrets. KFC’s blend of herbs and ever, if there is ever spices is an exama time to be random, ple. A business might it’s during the brand Properly vetting naming process. When also have its own software app or oththe trademark is have Apple or Amazon, er novel technology of the strongest key to a strong two that qualifies for patbrands known, ever ent protection. Finally, brand, ownership, explained the meantrademarks are the enforcement, and ing behind their comface of the business pany names? These monetization. – the logo, the businames are arbitrary, ness name, the slomore memorable, and gan, and other brand identifiers. more easily protected. Explaining Properly vetting the trademark is a business’ services or products in key to a strong brand, ownership, the title weakens the mark because enforcement, and monetization. others who sell the same products
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in trademark classifications. The initial business might be set up for charitable services, but perhaps there will be digital products, apparel, and printed books. Growing the IP portfolio to reserve and leverage those rights sooner rather than later should be considered.
If a logo will be used to promote the brand, business owners should be sure to acquire copyrights ownership of the work with the necessary agreements. or services use the same descriptors, and enforcement is difficult. The confusion over commonly used names for social justice causes (such as Black Lives Matter Global Network rather than The Black Lives Matter Foundation) has led to donors contributing to the unintended groups. Charitable organizations are at risk of losing financial support when there’s brand confusion. Vetting the name before moving forward with applying for a federal
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trademark is critical to preserving the business’s integrity in the event of accidental infringement. Accidental infringement can occur when an unvetted trademark sounds too similar to an existing mark and is used in association with the sale of similar goods or services. Also, making a word plural, changing vowels, and adding extra consonants will not change an infringing name to a non-infringing name. The worst-case scenario is where a business owner gets it wrong, is sued for trademark infringement, and is forced to rebrand. It’s embarrassing and expensive. These are often public disputes and a business’ reputation may not recover. On the other hand, a strong brand identity can create opportunities for franchising, exclusive rights deals, and co-branding. Along with carefully selecting the brand name, business owners should make room for growth when locking
If a logo will be used to promote the brand, business owners should be sure to acquire copyright ownership of the artistic work with the necessary agreements signed by the artist who created the work. A common misconception is that the business owns logos, graphics, photographs and other creative work it pays for. Not so, under copyright law. A copyright assignment from the artist who designed the logo to the business is necessary to establish clear title. It’s also a great idea to have the artist sign off on warranties and representations to protect the business in the event the artist infringed on a third party’s rights. Only after the business acquires the copyright by registering it with the Copyright Office, should it move to acquire federal trademark rights (for the logo) through the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO). One registration is protecting the art and the other is protecting the use of the art in association with goods and services. Successful businesses have great teams. Protecting intellectual property in the team-building process means having strong non-disclosure agreements, independent contractor agreements, partnership agreements that address intellectual property, and policies and procedures that preserve the business' rights. A well-developed plan to leverage intellectual property can fund business projects, investments, college tuition,
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A strong brand identity can create opportunities for franchising, exclusive rights deals, and co-branding. real estate, weddings, and other huge expenses that might otherwise require loans or create debt that passes to the business owner’s estate. However, a lack of education on ‘the what and how’ contributes to the wealth gap in marginalized communities. History tells us that even when there has been knowledge about the need for intellectual property protection, systemic racism prevented an even playing field. More than thirty years would pass, after U.S. patent laws became effective, before patent registrations could be owned by black inventors. Instead, slave owners and their heirs reaped the benefits. Perhaps the most widely known intellectual property theft is in the entertainment industry. Artists with little to no knowledge of copyright law stripped or substantially persuaded out of their creative rights while their music, names, and likenesses made millions for others has been common practice for decades. Intellectual property laws exist because they promote art and innovation by providing incentive through the owners’ exclusive rights for a limited time. Business owners must be aware of their intellectual property assets and adopt a proactive approach to securing and leveraging them for the benefit of their bottom lines and legacies.
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Creators of OWN’s groundbreaking docu-series
Black Love CoDIE and Tommy Oliver
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discuss entrepreneurship and why this project was necessary
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D
irector and producer Codie Oliver alongside her husband Tommy, a filmmaker and cinematographer in his own right, developed, created, and independently financed Black Love, the hit docu-series on the Oprah Winfrey Network. Black Love highlights couples in the black community, each sharing about the intricacies of love and marriage. The show has featured renowned celebrity couples including Viola Davis and Julius Tennon, Tia Mowry-Hardrict and Cory Hardrict, and Meagan Good and DeVon Franklin.
The idea for Black Love mushroomed in 2008, when Codie became frustrated with the narrative about Black women and marriage.
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Subsequently, she met Tommy, and they set out to produce Black Love as a documentary. However, after shooting over 50 interviews, they decided to produce a docu-series to provide more in-depth stories. This power couple is championing Black love but behind the show, they are a real-life example, balancing a family and business. The duo hosted their third Black Love Summit in November 2020, where Black singles and couples gathered to experience “transparent conversations about love, partnership, and community.� We sat down with Tommy and Codie to discuss entrepreneurship, how the Black Love docu-series started, and their advice for couples in business together.
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VIP: How did you come up with the idea for the Black Love docu-series? CODIE: I initially had the idea for Black Love as a single woman in graduate school. There was a narrative about black marriage crisis in America. Outlets reported that black couples weren’t getting married or staying married as long as other ethnicities, and that black women were least desirable and were the most alone. On top of that black women are often told the more degrees they have, the less likely it is that they will get married. Hearing that portrayal of black men and women time and time again was sad and depressing for me and my friends. I knew that narrative was false, but if you’re not careful, you can internalize that type of negativity and believe fiction to be true. Successful marriage among black couples existed, but the stories weren’t easily accessible. Our people didn't see positive examples with couples who looked like them in relationships on film and television. It was then that my vision for Black Love evolved. 38
VIP: You were engaged in 2014 when you began filming Black Love. Walk us through the process of coming together to work on this project. CODIE: I filmed several interviews while doing PR full time for Canon Cinema Cameras. Tommy and I met at the 2013 Toronto Film Festival, when he was a full-time filmmaker. Within weeks of dating, I told him about my idea for the Black Love documentary and he wanted to start right away. Canon agreed to loan us film equipment and we immediately began shooting couples. TOMMY: There was so much about love and being in a relationship that I didn’t know. I didn’t grow up seeing longstanding or healthy marriages, so this project was a way for me to absorb information from couples who were trying to do it the right way. I wanted to be a good husband, and this was an opportunity to learn what I could do to make sure Codie and I have a successful marriage.
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VIP: What was the process to find couples to interview? CODIE: Over the years, I curated a list of couples I wanted to interview for this project. It included politicians, celebrities, and athletes, as well as the parents and grandparents of our friends. I wanted to have a mix of famous and non-famous people, so we started with couples we knew. We contacted our friends, Tia Mowry and Cory Hardrict, and reached out to couples we networked with years prior. Then, acquaintances and friends we interviewed began recommending other couples for the project. It was that simple, but it was several years in the making. I had a clear vision about what I wanted Black Love to be and what sharing it could mean for our community. VIP: In discussing marriages, it’s easier to talk about the happy times, but I’m sure you also wanted couples to talk about their struggles and how they overcame them. Let’s discuss more about that aspect of the show. CODIE: Discussing how marriages survive trying times was just as important as seeing representation of happy black couples in entertainment and the media. Highlighting relationships that have been tested, and spouses who have struggled to grow stronger as a unit really mattered to me. We stripped it down and simply had a husband and a wife talking about their relationship. The stories are authentic and relatable because they’re all couples who work together to make their marriages work. TOMMY: In highlighting these marriages not only were we inspired, but we were also learning what it took to get to where they were. Every marriage is different, but I learned no love story is as linear as it seems from the outside. Successful relationships take work, there is no shortcut. These couples have been married for years and have seen the best and worst parts of each other. Still, they’ve chosen to be together.
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Say Hello to 8 Coup Were Featured
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Black L Aiyana and Ayize Ma'at
Jazmyn Simon and Dulè Hill
Deborah Joy Winans and Terrance Williams
Grant and Tamia Hill 40
ples Who d on
Love
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Viola Davis and Julius Tennon
Meagan Good and DeVon Franklin
DondrĂŠ Whitfield and Salli Richardson
Tia Mowry-Hardrict and Cory Hardrict
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Michael Ealy, and Morris Chestnut; and when I left my job at Canon, we were preparing to produce Destined, starring Cory Hardrict. Making that leap to entrepreneurship was scary but having a partner made it a lot easier. VIP: For entrepreneurs in your type of business, having creative control is key. Share about the value in that as you partnered with other entities. CODIE: We launched BlackLove. com and expanded the discussions around love past romance. Keeping ownership allowed us to exploit the rights in perpetuity. Throughout this process, we learned so much about entrepreneurship, betting on ourselves, money management, and creating multiple streams of income from one project. There are many VIP: What do you hope audiences will get out of watching the show? CODIE: We wanted to provide hope. Successful black marriages do go the distance. But just like any other relationship, black marriage isn’t without its challenges. I want audiences to watch the series and think, “Marriage is a lot of work but if they can do it, so can I.” This project is so special because it shows raw conversation between a married couple that usually happens behind closed doors. Lack of transparency grossly simplifies the realities of marriage. You see all of the good and none of the bad. What we did in creating Black Love years ago was something a lot of other
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projects have started doing now, which is, being transparent, having real conversations, and normalizing adversities in marriage. We are far more open than any preceding generation because we see that sharing our experiences, perspectives, and moments of growth provide encouragement to others who may be struggling. VIP: Let’s talk about entrepreneurship. How did you take the leap? CODIE: I’m a product of entrepreneurs. My dad was a doctor with his own practice and my mom was a lawyer with her own practice. Watching my parents run their companies I thought, “I could do that,” but I was fearful of being self-employed and not having a consistent salary or healthcare. Having Tommy as a partner gave me confidence because we were in it together. He had just produced The Perfect Guy with Sanaa Lathan,
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with each other. I am unlike any business associate he’s ever had because we’re in a marriage. When work is done for the day, he’s still my husband so we have to prioritize each other’s peace.
ways for entrepreneurs to establish continuous revenue and build their brands, they just have to research and figure out what works for their company. Successful entrepreneurs are forever learning and figuring out ways to be better. It’s an ongoing process.
our pitch packet to various networks and OWN was one of the outlets that was interested, which made everything that much sweeter.
VIP: How important was it for you to partner with the Oprah Winfrey Network?
CODIE: Working together will blur business and personal times, but you have to make the effort to establish boundaries. Designate time and place for business and personal conversations. Listening to your partner, not just hearing them while you wait to speak, is important if you want to have a successful collaboration. Also, respect each other’s ideas and play to one another’s strengths.
OWN was my ideal partner from the beginning. I have always identified with Oprah and her brand. Not just because she’s an extraordinary businesswoman, but Oprah has established her brand and platform on humanity and love, two things I also associate myself with. OWN is very much synonymous with Oprah and what she stands for. I knew our show could transcend demographics and generations, just as Oprah has been able to do throughout her career. Creative Artists Agency sent
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VIP: What advice do you have for aspiring entrepreneurs who are a couple?
We’ve been doing this for a while, but we’re still learning how to work
TOMMY: I often say, “Luck is the meeting of preparation and opportunity.” Codie and I prepared for this opportunity in every way we could control. Most people don’t understand how much work and personal accountability it takes to successfully run a company. The amount of dedication, work ethic, and preparation needed is often overwhelming because aspiring business owners and entrepreneurs haven’t prepared for it. We all have high aspirations, but it takes more than that. You have to put in the time, learn as much as you can, have open communication with your partner, and be willing to go beyond what you thought you had to do to prepare for an opportunity. Stream full episodes of Black Love seasons 1-4 on Oprah.com and Amazon Prime. To watch outtakes or learn more about the couples who were interviewed, visit BlackLove. com. On Instagram, follow Codie @codieco, Tommy @producertommy, and Black Love @blacklove. Visit:
blacklove.com
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LEADESHIP
INTRO PAGE
leadership
Marty McDonald & BOSSWOMEN
Media
"I
How one women brought hundreds of top businesswomen to the table. wanted to create a space, an outlet for women, specifically women of color, to be able to utilize tools and resources to help propel them forward in their careers,” explains Marty McDonald, CEO and Founder of Boss Women Media.
Like many people, Marty McDonald wants “to live her best life.” Importantly, she took action. “She decided to leap after her dreams of creating a community of empowerment, change, and freedom.” In 2018, Marty decided to put everything on the line and establish Boss Women Media to connect career-driven women. Before that, she was in an 11-year corporate job, making a six-figure salary. But Marty soon realized that she was one of the few women of color working in the company, and that was taking a toll on her. So, she left the job.
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Today, Marty is on a mission to connect with women in businesses that span multiple disciplines. “Whether these women are in corporate America navigating the workplace and in need of resources and connections to take their careers to the next level or start-up hustlers who are building businesses, Boss Women Media is the ideal place for them.” Boss Women Media is dedicated to building a community of women who will empower each other through connection, networking, and workshops. Check out our interview with Marty as she shares about her business endeavors, and how she is helping other women to pursue their dreams every single day. Why did you start Boss Women Media? I started Boss Women Media because I knew what it felt like to be the only Black woman in a room full of white men that didn’t understand my vision and perspective. I wanted to create a space, an outlet for women, specifically women of color, to be able to utilize tools and resources to help propel them forward in their careers. Whether they were in Corporate America trying to find ways to climb that corporate ladder, or they were vipglobalmagazine.com
just starting out as a business owner or side hustler trying to turn their full-time gig into their main one—I wanted Boss Women Media to be the space for them. A space to network, connect and meet likeminded women that represent exactly who and what they are and can be. What services does Boss Women Media offer? Boss Women Media hosts a variety of events (currently digital due to Covid-19) that include 100 Women Sitting at the Table, Black Girl Magic Tour, Boss Women of the Year, and more recently, Home Hustlers, which is a 4-week digital educational series that teaches women how to take their ideas to the next level through panels and workshops led by industry experts. We also offer our Boss Connectors Membership which is a community of tools and stimulating events to help women crush their career goals. Through this membership, we provide a plethora of perks and benefits that include: expert advice with boss women monthly, exclusive downloadable content, daily text messages, free networking events, 25% off event tickets, front row seating at Boss events, and so much more. vipglobalmagazine.com
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bring attention to women of color that are changemakers and leaders in their industry. We want to be the outlet that women can lean on and where they can be celebrated in a world that doesn’t tend to do it as often as it should. The Black Girl Magic tour is a tour that not only highlights women of color, but it’s also a tour that gives women the chance to interact with other women through their shared experiences. The Boss Women of the Year summit was virtual this year. What was that like? This year’s Boss Women of the Year Summit looked a little different
Tell us about the 100 Women Sitting at the Table event. In honor and celebration of Women’s History Month which takes place in March, for the first time ever we wanted to highlight the untold stories of 100 women who were sitting at the table. We deemed 2020 as the year Boss Women Media would highlight women—powerhouses and inspirational bosses who were taking the lead and not taking no for an answer. The event took place at C.R. Smith Flight Museum with nearly 120 women in partnership with Capital One. 100 Women Sitting at the Table featured women from various industries including Monique Rodriguez, CEO and Founder of Mielle Organics, Suzette Robotham, Diversity and Inclusion Program Manager at Google, Jolorie Williams, VP of Marketing at Creme of Nature, Alechia Reese, the award-winning author of Eating Elephants, and Marilee Fiebig Holmes, Chief of Staff at Roc Nation, to name a few. Our main goal with 100 Women
Sitting at the Table was to connect women who are grinding in the boardroom and creating brands with like-minded women. Why was it important to host the Black Girl Magic tour? It was important to host the Black Girl Magic tour because it is our mission and goal to showcase and
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from the previous three years due to our current climate. We hosted a digital event that honored women that are masters of their field and have paved new roads for other women to succeed. Viewers had the opportunity to join us virtually as we had three panels of mothers, entrepreneurs and corporate queens that included Mattie James, Denise Vasi, Mandy Price, Meena Harris, Taryn Newton, Kimberly Cummings, Jessica Taylor, Marjorie Williams, Brittani Rettig Wold, Nicole Fortune, Erin Waller, Paige Barton, Carmin Brown, and Mikaila Ulmer. Our attendees engaged in pre-recorded panel discussions with the brightest women in the game to help motivate them to find ways to take their careers to the next level. Tell us about the Home Hustlers program which you recently launched. Home Hustlers is our 4-week educational digital event series in partnership with Square where
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we’re calling on all side hustlers, idea creators and innovators, that want to take their idea to the next level. Each week we prepare a panel of experts in their careers to help guide and inform our audience through virtual workshops. We provide information that they need to know to turn their passions into profit to help them scale their own business.
Like several businesses, Covid-19 has definitely shifted the way we put on events for Boss Women Media. Being that majority of our events took place face-to-face and stimulated lots of human interaction, Covid-19 happened right in the middle of one of our biggest events yet—The Black Girl Magic
What challenges have you encountered while running Boss Women Media, and how did you resolve them? You’ll face many challenges while running your own business, but the best lesson I have learned is connections are key to being successful. Creating long lasting relationships will help you elevate your business for the future. How has Covid-19 changed your business? What adjustments have you made to facilitate your clients?
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tour. We were set to begin the tour a few weeks before the announcement of Covid-19 and cities having to shut down. This caused us to have to go into immediate action to turn the entire tour into a virtual event. Of course, as time progressed and we realized Covid-19 wasn’t letting up, we began to find ways to utilize and implement more digital events, which is where Home Hustlers and Boss Women of the Year Summit both came into play. What do you say to aspiring entrepreneurs who have not yet mustered up the courage to leave their jobs?
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Before deciding that you want to leave your current job, make sure you have some kind of plan in place. What plan do you have in place that will allow you to step out on that leap of faith and take those next steps to making your dream a reality. Success doesn’t happen overnight, but it will eventually happen if you stay focused and most importantly stay consistent.
What’s in the works Boss Women Media? We plan to continue to share the stories of black women and highlight those stories to motivate and inspire the world. 2021 will be a different year as we go back into the world and engage digitally, but it will be the year of new normal for growth.
What is the most important lesson you’ve learned since becoming an entrepreneur? Success does not come over night. It takes time to persuade the world about the benefits you bring to the table.
Visit Boss Women Media at
bosswomen.org
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VICTORIOUS by DESIGN
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• EDITING • PUBLISHING • BOOK PROMOTION • AUTHOR COACHING • WRITING COURSES • WRITING SEMINARS • WRITING WORKSHOPS • WRITING CONFERENCES
Positioning you for success. Contact us today! victoriousbydesign.com
leadership
6WAYS
to Overcome
BUSINESS FAILURE by Stacey Hylen
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and Thrive
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leadership It takes courage to be an entrepreneur. Putting yourself out there on a continuous basis is not easy and it can be discouraging when things don’t turn out as expected. Nevertheless, restarting after you’ve failed is a key component to becoming a successful entrepreneur. “Fall down seven times, get up eight,” is a Japanese proverb that entrepreneurs should embrace and implement in their daily lives. Whether it is losing a major client, a failed launch, or the inability to change in a market that requires you to pivot, here are my top strategies to help you overcome business challenges.
1.
Have a “get up” attitude
Before starting, decide that you will keep moving forward no matter the outcome of the project Give yourself a short window of time to be upset, then dust yourself off and get back to it. Set a timer if needed with one of your favorite songs to remind you to shift your energy.
3.
5.
Keep a win folder
Create a folder on your phone or computer that has positive feedback from your clients. When things get hard, read the feedback to remind yourself of the positive impact you are making on others.
Refocus on your vision
Failure is an opportune time to remind yourself why you are in business. Think about your mission, vision, and goals. Remember the positive impact you are making on your family, community, and the world.
4.
6.
Analyze the situation
2.
Have a positive team
Surround yourself with those who want you to succeed and give encouragement when needed. Usually, support teams consist of a spouse, partner, coach, mastermind, or friend. My coaching clients have Voxer access to me so they can contact me via text or voice message when they need to turn around a difficult situation.
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Take a day or two to objectively review and evaluate every aspect of your business. What went right? What could have been done differently to achieve success? What can you take away and apply in the future to get better results?
Move forward
Whether it is on the same project or something new, outline your next steps and take that first baby step forward.
When you constantly try new things, sometimes you will fail. Just keep in mind true failure only happens when you stop and never restart. So, if you fail, get up, and move forward! Napoleon Hill reminds us, “Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.”
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leadership
Up Close
& Personal
Cheri Tree & Esther Wildenberg Helping others take it to the B.A.N.K., so they can take it to the beach!
At VIP Global Magazine, it’s our pleasure to draw attention to the incredible achievements of individuals who have harnessed their unique talents and are using their entrepreneurial expertise to impact the world. That’s why we are excited to turn the spotlight on the amazing Cheri Tree and Esther Wildenberg.
C
HERI TREE is a best-selling a u t h o r, p ro fessional keynote speaker, and world-renowned entrepreneur. She is the Founder and Chairman of Codebreaker Technologies, Inc., with clients in more than 100 countries worldwide. She is the creator of the revolutionary B.A.N.K. methodology and Codebreaker’s Personality Coding Technology, designed to help business owners close more sales in less time and improve their communication skills and personal relationships. Cheri has spoken to hundreds of thousands of entrepre-
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neurs and professionals globally at some of the top business conferences in the world. She has also been invited to speak at Harvard University, the University of California, Google, and the United Nations. In addition, Cheri has been featured in numerous international publications including Forbes.com and Entrepreneur.com, and has been nominated as Innovator of the Year and Entrepre-
neur of the Year because of the breakthroughs created from her Personality Coding Technology, including Codebreaker AI, the world’s first Artificial Intelligence powered by B.A.N.K. Cheri is both purpose-driven and profit-driven, with a goal to create income, influence, and impact for all. Her mission is to crack the code of every human on the planet and ultimately make our world a better place by creating One World, One Language. She is passionate about life and helping others take it to the BANK, so they can take it to the beach!
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leadership
E
STHER WILDENBERG is the Co-Founder & CEO of Codebreaker Technologies. Esther brings not only years of experience with B.A.N.K. to the role but also significant executive leadership. In fact, she was already the CEO of a financial sales company leading a team of over 800 employees by the age of 33. Before her current CEO role, Esther worked her way up in the company. After starting as a Certified Trainer, Esther quickly became the top B.A.N.K. salesperson internationally. She was later promoted to Sales Director of Europe, then Senior Vice President of Sales, President, and ultimately CEO. As an ANKB, Esther has endless energy for building the longterm success of Codebreaker Technologies. Her passion for transforming businesses and lives using B.A.N.K. is what drives her to increase the growth of the company exponentially.
V
IP: Can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today. CHERI: Esther and I met in Amsterdam in November 2013 when I was a speaker at the National Achievers Congress. She was in the audience and I said from the stage I was looking for an amazing leader to work with me and help open up Europe for my company. Esther was inspired by my work with B.A.N.K. and purchased a ticket to our 2-day Codebreaker Summit event. We connected on many levels, personally and professionally. She was the perfect leader for our European market expansion, and we began to work together.
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A few months later, Esther arranged a 30-day tour through Europe to expand our company, and we ended the tour in Geneva, Switzerland for a ski trip on Valentine’s weekend. I started to have a lot of feelings for Esther but wanted to make sure she was the right fit for me. So, I took the opportunity to ask her a very important question. I asked her, “Are you willing to be in my shadow?” I speak all over the world and didn’t want to be with an insecure or jealous woman. She took a short pause to process my question, smiled, and then came back and said, “Yes, as long as you’re willing to be in mine!” I smiled. The rest is history! We fell madly in love with each other and officially started our relationship. We had a long-distance relationship for the next six months and then we got engaged. Esther moved from The Netherlands to America fulltime and we found our perfect home in Southern California in Laguna Beach. We got married on August 8, 2015 and we’ve been very happily married ever since. For the past 5 years, we’ve focused on building our company into a global brand. We travelled all over the world speaking at some of the top conferences and doing business globally. We saw that the future was going to be technology, so we started shifting from being a training company to a technology company with a training division. We’ve come a long way and are proud of our accomplishments. We’ve been nominated for several years in a row at Innovator of the Year, and we were featured in Forbes as the “Future of Sales” with the launch of our artificial intelligence, designed to predict buying behavior in nanosec55
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onds and help sales professionals and business owners close more sales in less time. I was honored with an invitation to speak again in Geneva at the United Nations AI for Good conference in 2019. While it’s been an amazing life together building our company and traveling the world, in 2020 we expanded our family and had our baby boy, Kai Keanu Tree. He was born 10 weeks early and came out strong and ready to crush it! He never needed oxygen and went home a month early from the NICU. We are certainly not spring chickens, I just turned 48! But we are up for the opportunity to raise an amazing young man and we plan to have him join us on our world travels and be a part of the mission we have to change the world, together as a family. VIP: Has it been a smooth road? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way? ESTHER: If it was a smooth road it would be boring! Every relationship has challenges, but I think we managed them well over the past six and a half years. When I moved from The Netherlands to the USA, there was a culture shock. Dutch is my native language and I had to improve my English big time. The European culture is way more balanced. People in Europe actually take time off, eat healthier, and value friendships and quality time more. For example, 4 to 5-hour dinners are normal when you hang out with friends. In the USA, it’s chop-chop, bye, see you later. Being in a same sex relationship is not appreciated by all. In The Netherlands, it’s accepted and normal. Amsterdam was the first city with gay marriage and the first Gay Pride parade. In the USA, there’s still a big group of people who are against same sex relationships. I felt that when I moved here.
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We’re living in a modern world and being a women-owned innovative technology company is still an interesting phenomenon, apparently. Other power women love working with us and see the extreme value we bring. It takes highly emotionally intelligent, personally developed men to work with power women and value their skills, expertise, and experience. Another struggle we had was that men significantly underestimated us. Some tried to con us into partnering with them and getting us to believe we could never make it in a man’s world. They would commonly refer to us as “the girls.” That was a mistake… big mistake! At Codebreaker Technologies, our motto is “people before profits” and we live by the philosophy that sales is not a numbers game, it’s a people game. Women seem to get that immediately, and others not so
much. For us, it’s a line in the sand, and if people don’t share the same values, we walk away from the deal or the relationship. It’s that simple. VIP: Tell us about your company? ESTHER: We help business owners, entrepreneurs, and sales professionals close more sales in less time with our B.A.N.K. methodology and technology. We teach our clients how to unlock the secrets, the science, and the system to increase their sales up to 300%. Also, we teach them how to improve their communication, strengthen their relationships, and create more influence and impact in their world.
family
HERE’S
Cheri’s story:
When Founder and Chairman Cheri Tree started her first business as a financial advisor, she struggled to make sales. In fact, the first year, she made an income of only $700! For the next five years, she studied everything she could to become successful. She read great books, listened to audio programs, attended seminars, and even hired coaches, investing thousands of dollars financed by her credit cards to be successful. Unfortunately, her income peaked at $72,000 and didn’t come close to the 6-figure income she was desperately pursuing, and yet she was devoting almost every minute of her time to her business. Cheri found herself completely disillusioned by the proverbial “sales is a numbers game” message and realized that she was being led to believe one of the greatest myths in sales when she was told that “in order to get more Yes’s, you have to get more No’s.” This is when Cheri woke up to the reality that this just wasn’t true! The truth, she realized, was that in order to get more Yes’s, you have to get more Yes’s, not more No’s! This thought process led Cheri down a path that ended up changing her entire world. In an effort to build a thriving small business without working herself to death, Cheri decided to learn everything she could about closing sales and she discovered that in fact, sales was not a numbers game, it was a people game! This discovery shifted her focus from sales to people, including learning several personality typing systems. Cheri found personality science compelling, but difficult to apply to the sales process.
That’s why Cheri dedicated herself to reverse-engineering the personality types, basing it in “buyology” – the science of buying behavior, rather than psychology, to understand why her customers buy, and what triggered the Yes versus the No. Her theory was that if it had been proven by Hippocrates that there are four different personality types or four temperaments, then it could be possible that each type makes buying decisions differently. In the process, Cheri created B.A.N.K.— the first easy and accurate system that combined the proven brilliance of personality science with real-world best practices for the sales process. With B.A.N.K., Cheri grew her yearly income to over $500,000 in just 12 months and to over $1 million in 3
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years! Amazingly, this income didn’t require burning out. B.A.N.K. reduced the sales cycle time dramatically, providing her with more free time to enjoy life. Even her team dynamics and personal relationships improved thanks to the increased emotional intelligence that B.A.N.K. brought. Cheri was so overwhelmed by the success B.A.N.K. brought that she was inspired to share B.A.N.K. with other professionals, business owners and world leaders full-time. Cheri started BANKCODE, and later launched Codebreaker Technologies, and her success went viral. Personality intelligence combined with sales intelligence and emotional intelligence became the best way for businesses to get ahead.
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Thousands of entrepreneurs started using B.A.N.K., and the B.A.N.K. system has even been used by the sales teams of major corporations like Google and other major companies across multiple industries. And now with the introduction of CODEBREAKER AI, the world’s first artificial intelligence powered by B.A.N.K., even Forbes predicted this could become The Future of Sales. Cheri’s success elevated her to iconic status, and she is frequently invited to speak at many of the top business conferences in the world, sharing the stage with business giants like Robert Kiyosaki, Anthony Robbins, Les Brown, Steve Wozniak, and Sir Richard Branson to speak about the power of B.A.N.K. and lecture at top universities like Harvard University and the University of California. Cheri has been nominated as Innovator of the Year for the past four consecutive years by the Orange County Business Journal, accepted the American Riviera Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award in Monte Carlo, and invited to speak at the United Nations AI For Good Summit—all because of her work in the business world and the social impact for humanity with B.A.N.K. VIP: What are the top 3 reasons why people buy B.A.N.K. methodology? • They want to learn how to increase their sales revenue and shorten sales cycles (close more sales in less time). • They want to improve their personal communication with their key relationships, personally and professionally. • They want to incorporate the B.A.N.K. methodology into their entire ecosystem, including their marketing, sales initiatives, corporate leadership, hiring and recruiting efforts, and tech platforms. VIP: What are you most proud of as a company? What sets you apart from others? 58
We are most proud of the fact that B.A.N.K. is a sales and communication methodology based in integrity and emotional intelligence. It not only improves people’s incomes and results, but it also has been known to save marriages, forge better parent-child relationships, reduce or prevent bullying and teenage suicide, and overall improve a person’s quality of life. B.A.N.K. isn’t about “closing” people, it’s about getting the agreement, the YES, the win-win outcome for all parties involved. Our mission is to connect and empower humanity. We’re also proud to be a women-owned company, leading the way for others to follow. We love to inspire entrepreneurs to step into their power, perform at their peak, and stay aligned with their true purpose. B.A.N.K empowers people to speak their message into the marketplace perfectly into the listening of their audiences, ultimately creating income, influence, and impact for all. VIP: Where do you see your industry going over the next 5-10 years? Any big shifts, changes, trends, etc.? SHIFT: We’re entering a decade where technology will be leading. Everything will become faster, better, and smarter. Artificial Intelligence for good will support many great projects. AI is great for gathering data and generating insights. We will continue to work more virtual and digital, without losing the human touch. B.A.N.K. is the best of high tech, high touch.
CHANGE: We’re entering a time where Emotional Intelligence and Spiritual Intelligence are big drivers for success. Women will rise and become world leaders. People are looking more than ever for authentic, humble, feminine, powerful leaders who are not willing to be bullied. There’s no room for egos anymore. Out with the old. In with the new! TREND: Increased collaboration with influencers. The pandemic increased the power of influencers. Influencers are more reliable than celebrities. Influencers have a great following vipglobalmagazine.com
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FUN FACTS: Favorite Quote?
bring B.A.N.K. to school systems and universities. Our mission is to create One World One Language.
Cheri: “You can’t steal 2nd base and keep your foot on 1st.” Esther: “Stop taking advice from people more messed up than you.”
VIP: What are 3 tips on success that you can share with other entrepreneurs?
Cheri: Green Esther: Orange
TIP 1: Focus. Most millionaires on average have 7 streams of income, but only 1 stream of income that made them a millionaire. Find a mentor you want to follow and keep your eye on the prize. TIP 2: Understand that Sales is not a numbers game, it’s a People game. Master your ability to understand, connect, and communicate with people and you will be unstoppable. TIP 3: Work smarter – not harder. Find solutions that drive results in less time. Find technology that is high tech but still high touch, and leverage the trifecta of personality intelligence, sales intelligence, and emotional intelligence.
Favorite Color?
Favorite Movie?
Cheri: Christmas Vacation or Rat Race Esther: Avatar
Guilty pleasure?
Cheri: In & Out Burger + Chocolate Malt Esther: Molten Chocolate Lava cake with fresh homemade whipped cream, vanilla ice cream and strawberries.
What is one thing people would be shocked to know about you?
Cheri: Lived in a storage unit for 18 months Esther: Two near death experiences
GIVEAWAY and big reach. The key is finding influencers that are both purpose driven and profit driven. Both are important. RISK: People are more and more socially disconnected (not just physically). The human race needs human touch, human connection and feeling loved, heard and seen. We have to focus on making people feel good and accepted, otherwise the bullying rates and suicide rates will exponentially grow the next decade. And the numbers are already heartbreaking. One of B.A.N.K.’s initiatives is to vipglobalmagazine.com
Enjoy this giveaway from Cheri Tree and Esther Wildenberg.
Click
www.crackmycode.com/esther to take a quick personality assessment for FREE and receive a custom BANKCODE report, $99 value. This will take you less than 90 seconds.
Visit
www.codebreakertech.com 59
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Meet the
Carters Vision for VIP Global magazine
“We created VIP Global Magazine to provide business owners and entrepreneurs with a platform to learn, network, and shop in one place, no matter where they are in the world,” says Pasha Carter, Founder and Editor-in-Chief. “The magazine is an online support system like no other, because it shares highly sought-after advice and top-notch secrets from professionals who are giants in their industries.”
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n Friday, January 15, 2021, Steve and Pasha Carter launched VIP Global Magazine, the ultimate business resource to:
• Offer actionable business strategies from top entrepreneurs, trendsetters, influencers, and celebrities all over the world
• Provide a one-stop shop for kids who want to become entrepreneurs, earn money, or gain leadership skills • Highlight the next generation of entrepreneurs who are making it happen but are not getting next-level recognition
“With VIP Global Magazine, we created something unique,” Pasha explains. “Instead of simply highlighting successful businessmen and women, readers get a complete guide that will take their personal and professional lives to the next level. vipglobalmagazine.com
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It’s education and entertainment at its finest. Our content will empower business leaders and aspiring entrepreneurs to achieve unimagined possibilities.” For the Carters, creating the magazine isn’t just a great solution to close a market gap; it’s personal too. The idea for the magazine evolved when the Carters' four children started expressing an interest in entrepreneurship. “Steve and I often have conversations with our children regarding entrepreneurship and leadership,” Pasha states. “They’re constantly expressing their interest in owning businesses, and we thought there should be a way for aspiring business owners to vipglobalmagazine.com
learn from the best entrepreneurs in the world. I believe every child should know how to build a million-dollar business before they leave home. Steve and I, being successful entrepreneurs ourselves, and having met and partnered with so many other entrepreneurs in million-dollar businesses, thought, ‘Why not create a business media outlet to provide tips and strategies for entrepreneurs?’ In so doing we would have a platform for our children to learn exactly how to excel in their areas of interest.”
tise and business endeavors. “We were also thinking about businesses that have the potential to thrive but need connections and finances to move forward,” Pasha mentions.
BUSINESS CONTINUITY THROUGH COVID-19
Last year, the forced shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic gave the Carters the space to brainstorm potential business ideas. In addition to managing their online eCommerce To create the magazine, the Carters businesses, they thought it was an opbegan pulling together an experi- portune time to create the magazine. enced team, while contacting re- “The effects of COVID have given nowned industry experts who were entrepreneurs who want to level up willing to share their stories, exper- the perfect opportunity to recreate 63
ABOUT THE CARTERS Steve and Pasha Carter are among the most successful couples in business, with the blessing of living out their passions every day. The duo has been called one of “America’s Favorite Business Couples” in the home-based business world. Over the last 20 years, the Carters have launched, invested in, and sold dozens of products, establishing themselves as savvy and profitable business-minded moguls who create their own rules for success. With their powerful main-stage trainings and servant leadership style, Steve and Pasha built a multi-million-dollar empire and are the go-to experts for leaders who want to earn six and seven figures from their direct sales businesses. The couple desires to help people break through the financial bondage and excuses that stop them from reaching true emotional, economic, and physical freedom. Together, they teach and train people around the world to have success in their own businesses. As a result, they have helped thousands achieve their financial goals and change their lives.
their own rules for success, just as Steve and I have done,” she says. “While these are uncertain times, a lot of people are in a period of transition, and are looking to make significant changes to set themselves up for long term success. Creating digitally based income sources gives you freedom to spend time with family, travel the world, and establish success on your own terms. As an entrepreneur your income-producing options are endless—you just need to find what works for you.”
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The Carters aspire to help entrepreneurs elevate their brands and expand their companies. “I teach entrepreneurs to flip this pandemic on its head in every way possible,” says Pasha. “Instead of COVID stifling us financially, I’m empowering people to create wealth by going against what society teaches. A downturn in the economy typically produces millionaires. I’m using my knowledge, platform and connections to create more millionaires during this pandemic than ever before in history—that’s my goal.”
The Carters have been featured in The Wealth Choice: Success Secrets of Black Millionaires by Dr. Dennis Kimbro, magazines such as Networking Times, Success from Home, and Business from Home, as well as many other publications and radio shows. Learn more about Steve Carter at
stevecarteronline.com and Pasha Carter at and Pasha Carter at pashacarter.com
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Could they be
THE NEXT SET OF TWINS to TAKE HOLLYWOOD by STORM?
Anais & Mirabelle are MAKING WAVES in the
ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY
Recently, we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing the delightful twin actresses, Anais and Mirabelle Lee. Can we just say wow? It was double everything—double cuteness, double impact, and double inspiration from this dynamic duo.
A
nais and Mirabelle have been pursuing careers in modeling, acting, and dancing for almost 10 years. They are well-known in the entertainment industry for their commitment to their crafts, naturally showcasing their abilities. These fashionistas are making waves, having walked runways for big names in fashion. They have appeared in several movies and TV shows and acted alongside several A-list celebrities.
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Currently, Anais is in the cast of The Babysitters Club, portraying the iconic role of Jessi Ramsey. “It’s the role of a lifetime,” Anais states. “I relate to Jessi because she is a ballet dancer and Mirabelle and I both have been training in ballet since we were 2 years old.” The TV show has recently been renewed for a second season so Anais will soon be traveling to film. Mirabelle played the role of Moriah in the movie Slapface,
which is set to be released next year. “Playing Moriah was an amazing experience. I made the best friendships with the other actors on set and the cast and crew were really like family,” Mirabelle reveals. “Also, I’m super excited about my voiceover show; I can’t wait to tell everyone about it.” Despite their jam-packed schedule, Anais and Mirabelle are successful students with excellent grades. They are not only brilliant,
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kids but they are skillful conversationalists. During our interview they were composed, articulate, and bristling with confidence. Anais and Mirabelle are taking center stage and making a big impact at a young age. Read on to learn more about these unique trailblazers. How did you get your start in the modeling and film industries? We got started in the industry when we were 3 years old. We started out as print models, but we got our start by “accident.” We were in the park with our babysitter one day when a photographer came up to her and asked if we wanted to do a photoshoot for the kids' clothing brand, Llum. Our babysitter gave his card to our mom and after doing some research, we decided to go for it. After the photoshoot, we realized we loved being in front of the camera. Our mom sent out our photos to the top modeling agencies in New York City and they all responded with a “yes!” That led to commercial acting and well, here we are now!
Who are some of the actors that you have worked with? We worked with Zoe Saldana in the movie Blood Ties. Not only did she play our mom in the movie, but in a way, she acted as our mom off-screen as well. It was amazing to work with her. Anais has also worked with Yara Shahidi in The Sun is Also a Star. Yara is beautiful and inspirational. Tell us about one of your favorite modeling experiences. One of our favorites was when we were flown to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, two separate times to shoot for Club Med. It was so much fun! It was like a working vacation at a beautiful resort! What are the highlights of your careers so far? One of the biggest highlights was performing together on Nickelodeon’s Lip Sync Battle Shorties, twin episode, and winning the iced-out mic. It was fun performing in front of a live studio audience. Our grandmother even traveled all
the way from England to watch the live show! Also, we were definitely happy to be in the cast of the Netflix series The Babysitters Club and the feature film Slapface. What is the most important lesson you’ve learned since being in the modeling and film industries? The most important lesson we have learned in this industry is that everything happens for a reason. 70
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What advice would you give to other young girls who want to do modeling or acting? We would say never give up. You will get many no’s in this business and it can be hard at times, but you just have to keep pushing, because it’s that “yes” that makes it all worth it.
Do you like reading? Who do you read? Have you thought about writing books? We love reading! The books we are reading right now are of course the Jessi books in The Babysitters Club series, and also the T’witches book series. We have been obsessed with the movies ever since we were little and just recently found out they are based on a book series. Our favorite author at the moment is Brandy Colbert so we are always reading one of her books. As of right now, we are not planning on writing a book, but possibly in the future.
The most important lesson we have learned in this industry is that everything happens for a reason.
You may get super close to a role you really want, but then end up not getting it. But our mom told us that even if we may not understand why it happened, everything happens for a reason. Although we may not have gotten that particular role, the fact we did not, teaches us a lesson that we will need in the future. So, we stick it out, stay positive, and keep the faith. vipglobalmagazine.com
How do you balance it all school, modeling, dancing, and acting? It can be hard at times, but we make it work. When we are on set, there is a set teacher, and we are required to do a certain number of hours of school. School has always been our top priority and we always have straight A’s and the occasional B.
Tell us about a place you visited and loved. We loved our visit to Jamaica. It is one of our favorite places to travel to and we always have the best time there. It is such a beautiful place!
Are you involved in any community outreach programs or charities? For the past several years, we have worked with a charity called the Black Cotton Foundation that helps less fortunate children. This foundation raises money for programs and events to benefit poor 71
kids and working-class children in New York and New Jersey. It gives the children an opportunity to go to baseball games, shows, fun events, and provides them with clothing and supplies they may need. Through the Black Cotton Foundation, we also donate to the Wynona House, which protects abused and exploited children. Every year, we have a large birthday party where we collect new clothes, new toys, and school supplies (in lieu of birthday gifts) to donate to the children. One year, we sponsored a big fashion show in New York City and invited our celebrity models and actor friends to walk in the show to raise money for the foundation. In 2016, we won the Jasmina Anema Youth Award for our contributions to this charity and were recognized and given an award by the Newark, NJ City Council for our charity work in Newark. We would love to connect with a charity in Los Angeles and continue our charity work on the West Coast. So, Los Angeles charities–call us! You have a huge following on social media. How are you using your platform to inspire change? We are using our platform to inspire change by spreading awareness. In this recent election, we were constantly encouraging our followers to vote! And if they themselves couldn’t vote, we urged them to tell their parents to vote. We are always speaking up about movements that are important to us. We strongly believe in equality and human rights for all. Visit:
anaismirabelle.com
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money & business
H ow to
BUILD a BRAND being you!
Celai West } 74
Reveals how she went from MODEL to MOGUL and how you can, too.
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KNOWN AS THE LITTLE GIRL WITH THE BIG HAIR, CELAI WEST BURSTS ONTO THE FASHION SCENE AT JUST 5 YEARS OLD WITH PRINT MODELING. AT 7 YEARS OLD, SHE BECAME THE YOUNGEST MODEL TO WALK IN AN ADULT SHOW DURING NEW YORK FASHION WEEK.
S
ince then, she has co-authored two books, The Parent’s Guide to Kids Runway and The Parent’s Guide to Kids Runway...for Brown Girls, as well as launched The Chatty Chick, a collection of clever and empowering t-shirts for the whole family. After contending with hairstylists who didn’t know how to style her afro-textured hair, Celai and her mom teamed up and launched a YouTube channel with tips and tutorials for ethnic textured hair. Celai is often recognized by one of her many videos that have gone viral. Collectively her videos have been viewed over 25 million times. Still, her primary focus is advocating for kinky hair textures in the entertainment industry. She is determined to change the way the industry and young girls view natural hair. Now at 12 years old, this phenomenal young entrepreneur not only hopes to create significant change, but she wants to inspire young girls to love the hair they were born with. We had an opportunity to speak with Celai about all the amazing things she is doing.
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Tell us how you got started. “When I was three years old, I was at a skating rink with my parents, and this guy came up to us and he said, ‘I wanna shoot you,’ and we didn’t know which shoot he meant so we were like, ‘Wait, what?!’ Then, he said, ‘Oh, I’m sorry. I’m a photographer.’ Eventually, I did a photoshoot with him, and
loved it. The rest is history. When modeling slowed down, my mom suggested that I walk a runway show in the area. I did that and a year later, I booked a job at New York Fashion Week.” I have interviewed several young CEOs and I am so impressed by our young generation stepping
into the business side of entertainment. Tell us why it was important for you to be a CEO? We get a lot of emails from parents who’d say, ‘My daughter didn’t like her hair but now that I’ve shown her your Instagram, she loves her hair.’ I really just want to empower girls! To show them that their hair is beautiful the way it is, and they do not have to straighten it. So, that’s why I started The Chatty Chick. Now there are a lot of different people wearing my tees. There are girls with long hair, short hair, red hair, locs, braids—and boys too! So, we decided to expand it for the whole family. With school and social life, you must be busy. What does an average day look like for you? I’m home schooled, so I can take my computer wherever I go, and I’m definitely able to balance everything.
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Photos by Mark Gunter, Creative Soul Photography /@creativesoulphoto, Julian Peeples Photography/@julianjpeeples
What’s your three tips for aspiring models? Have fun, do your best, and never pay to sign on to an agency. How did you go viral? Do you suggest this for others? Actually, I don’t know how I went viral. You’ve got to have tough skin though, because when you go viral, you’ll definitely get negative comments. Over time, me and my mom were able to get past the comments, but you definitely must have thick skin. What are your three top tips for young entrepreneurs? Set your goals. Make sure you write them down and look at them every day. Learn your industry and be passionate about what you’re doing. Don’t just do it for the money. Tell us about being an activist. What does that mean to you and why is it important? I became a Texture Activist to bring awareness and create change in the fashion and entertainment industries. I push for the inclusion of kinky hair textures in the media as well as better training for hairstylists who are booked to work on sets with talent who have textured hair. I knew that a lot of girls felt discouraged and
Have fun, do your best, and never pay to sign on to an agency.
wanted to straighten their hair because of this. I wanted to tell them they do not have to straighten their hair to be beautiful or to fit in. I also want to push for better training, or black hair stylists; and I want diversity in front and behind the camera, with production.
What would you tell someone who wants to be an entrepreneur? You’re never too young, or too old, to dream big and change the world. Always know that representation matters. Finally, if you’re trying to create a door, make sure you create opportunities for those who don’t have a voice.
her curly hair is just one way she has empowered girls throughout the country to see themselves as beautiful. Celai’s confidence and determination at such a young age remind us that the only boundaries we have in life are the ones we create. Learn more about Celai at:
celaiwest.com
Celai West is an unapologetic, rising superstar who calls out injustices and refuses to let society determine her beauty standards. Proudly wearing
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15–Year-Old
TURNED SUCCESS COACH
How Daniel Bissonnette became a world-famous speaker and wellness teacher. 78
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Daniel Bissonnette is a world-renowned speaker, award-winning activist, and bestselling author who was featured in the World’s Top 100 Influential Vegans. He accomplished all this before age 15. Developer of “The Hybrid Book System” and host of YouTube channels “The Daniel Show” and “1 Minute Success,” this young entrepreneur is committed to helping people of all ages learn the most effective ways to increase physical and mental resilience as well as boost brain function and become a genius
D
aniel was raised on a wholefood, plant-based diet and got bullied because of the foods he ate for lunch. After his third-grade teacher suggested he give a class presentation on the importance of his diet, Daniel realized eating healthy foods fueled his body’s ability to maintain superior levels of mental and physical capabilities. That class presentation would become Daniel’s introduction to public speaking and promoting health and wellness.
foods and to get kids excited about healthy eating. Daniel's Breakfast Burst was released when I was 10 years old and I wasn't expecting much, but it did well. Many parents sent me pictures of their kids holding my book and trying out the recipes. It was awesome to see and really encouraged me to keep going. From there, I pitched my book at speaking events, and while I made money, it wasn’t enough to cover my costs. Daniel's Breakfast Burst was promoted through many media outlets, and the book’s popularity among kids and adults led to it becoming a bestseller.
During our interview, Daniel reveals why breakfast is essential to optimal health, the challenges he faced on his way to becoming a two-time bestselling author, and how he reworked his business strategies during the Covid-19 pandemic.
How did you become a success coach? I wasn’t making money at rallies, so I decided to speak at success conferences. I was 13 years old at the time and
kids
Tell us about your journey to become a bestselling author. I had a desire to educate people of all ages on how they could improve their brain power and energy simply by altering their diet and lifestyle. At the age of nine, I had my first public speaking engagement at a global rally and that YouTube video went viral. The event was held in over 500 cities around the world and had more than 2 million attendees. The positive feedback I received encouraged me to develop a guide to help children and adults implement healthy eating habits daily. Later, I released Daniel’s Breakfast Burst, a cookbook consisting of my favorite breakfast meals that delivered peak nutrition for mental performance. Overnight one’s body has been fasting for over 8 hours and at breakfast, which is traditionally in the morning, the body is ready to absorb the most nutrients from food. My goal for writing the book was to change the perception of healthy vipglobalmagazine.com
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didn’t know anything about the concept of coaching programs. At one event, I scheduled a meeting with the event organizer and we quickly constructed a coaching program. About a half hour later, I was on stage speaking and added the coaching program concept that was just developed and ended up making $2,000 in 15 minutes. When I began selling success programs I thought, “I finally cracked the code.” People were inspired and I was making a difference in their lives. Then Covid-19 hit, and I didn't know how I was going to make money or teach people. The nationwide shutdown meant no success events, no speaking engagements, and no sales. I had no other choice than to adapt and sell my programs online. In search of answers, I read No B.S. Sales Success: The Ultimate No Holds Barred, Kick Butt, Take No Prisoners, Tough and Spirited Guide by Dan Kennedy, and got the idea My biggest mistake to write a book with a call was not believing that The Biology of Greatto action via URL or QR ness. But the morning code. A modern version I was good enough. after it launched, I was of what Dan Kennedy did I spent so much time surprised that no one with his book, but my doubting myself when bought my book. So method made it easy for much time and money consumers to purchase all I had to do was were invested into this the product. go for it. project and once again I set out to author a chapI had failed. ter book but didn’t think I I was disappointed, but I needed to figure was a good enough writer. Then I met Greg out what went wrong. I looked at the Reid, who is an extremely accomplished analytics and saw that only 20 people author, at an expo in 2019 and he said, visited the website, which meant I need“People focus too much on the spelling ed to rework my marketing strategy to and grammar. The value is in the ideas generate more traffic. I started promoting and the content.” Hearing his words made my book on social media and booking me realize my biggest mistake was not podcast interviews to draw more eyes believing that I was good enough. I spent to my site. In three months, The Biology so much time doubting myself when all of Greatness made $10,000. Utilizing I had to do was go for it. the “Hybrid Book” method and buying Using the text-to-speech feature on my phone, I discovered I could “write” into social media as a marketing stratmy book significantly faster than tradi- egy opened many doors for me. I was featured on several podcasts, including tional typing. It wasn’t easy, but I wrote Ben Greenfield Fitness and To Your Good Health Radio, and gained several thousand social media followers. The government
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Visit Daniel at danielbissonnette.com
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shutdown and the Covid-19 pandemic forced me to change how I made money. My new business structure proved to be profitable, sustainable, and impactful. The information you cover is universal, but it's not always easy to understand. How difficult was it to simplify your material? There are many necessary studies and resources in The Biology of Greatness, but I didn’t want to bore people with complex information. Writing in a way that accurately explained the process, while making it easy for kids and adults to understand, was a challenge, but we made it happen. The layout is perfect, and the concepts are practical. Every chapter in The Biology of Greatness includes actionable steps that explain what readers specifically need to do to get the desired result.
What is the most satisfying moment of your career? The success of The Biology of Greatness and my ability to reconfigure my business strategy and product sales. When Covid-19 hit, and I realized how dependent I was on someone else’s business event, change was imminent. I want to make sure that I run my business properly, so that no matter what happens, I can still help people and get my message out. Do you have plans to return to the stage? I love speaking at events and meeting new people. The connection you establish in person just can’t be recreated. However, with my current business model I don’t need to speak on stage as often. If events ever go back to normal, I’ll definitely continue to do it because I love the interaction. If you want to upgrade your brain and enhance performance, then get The Biology of Greatness, and if you would like to learn how Daniel makes $5,000/month from book sales, he has put together a brand new free masterclass which you can watch here The Hybrid Book System.
It’s essential for all business owners to establish an online presence and figure out how to utilize it for their companies.
Why did you start "The Hybrid Book System"? I developed "The Hybrid Book System" to teach aspiring entrepreneurs how to jump start their businesses and help others. We put together a book and masterclass to help launch a business from scratch. It’s a self-paced course and I’m there to give advice and review their work. It’s been an absolute success and I’m having a blast helping people manifest their dreams. What is the most important lesson you’ve learned as an entrepreneur? Automating business is the way of the future. It’s essential for all business owners to establish an online presence and figure out how to utilize it for their companies. Doing so increases their ability to make money 24/7, from anywhere in the world. Automation is a game changer. vipglobalmagazine.com
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personal hairstylist Talks Entrepreneurship With VIP global magazine Top celebrity hairstylist and entrepreneur Nicole Mangrum has become the preferred choice for actors, entertainers, and influencers.
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he is best known for being the personal hairstylist of TV icon Oprah Winfrey, however, she has also worked with other renowned women such as Michelle Obama, Valerie Jarrett, and Gayle King, to name a few. But don’t be fooled—there were no shortcuts in her journey. Mangrum refined her craft, worked her way up the ranks of her industry, operated with precision, and witnessed the manifestation of her dream.
Mangrum has been nominated for three Make-Up Artists & Hair Stylists Guild Awards for her work on the Emmy award-winning Super Soul Sunday series and Oprah Winfrey Presents: Becoming Michelle Obama. To her credit, Mangrum created the stunning colorful curly ponytail that Oprah rocked
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on the cover of the 2018 February issue of O, The Oprah Magazine. Mangrum’s work has also appeared on the covers of Jet, Harper’s Bazaar, Vibe, Essence, Ebony, and Modern Salon. In a candid conversation with VIP Global Magazine, Mangrum discussed her love for styling hair, tips for aspiring entrepreneurs, and the journey that took her to work with the global powerhouse Oprah Winfrey, whom she has been working with since July 2015. “It was a dream come true,” Mangrum says. “I had made a vision board and one of my goals was to work for Oprah.” From owning a small successful salon in Chicago to traveling the world and styling top celebrities, Mangrum serves as an inspiration for all entrepreneurs. Her journey is a reminder to set goals and pursue them relentlessly. Dive in! This interview will forever change the way you look at your dreams. VIP: How did you get started styling hair? NICOLE: Hair is something I’ve always had a passion for. At 11 years old, I was braiding the kids’ hair at my church and around the neighborhood. I practiced for a long time, learning techniques and expanding my abilities. Then one day my mom said, “I'm going to let you braid my hair.” When I finished Mom’s hair, I couldn't believe how professional it looked. At that time, I wasn't considering styling hair as a career, but the joy I got from seeing how happy and confident my mom and other clients were ultimately drew me into the industry. VIP: The number of entrepreneurs increase each year, and we’re seeing an influx of people who are establishing profitable busi-
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Chicago called Freedom, and we were very successful for the fifteen years that we were there.
It’s impossible to have growth as an entrepreneur without delegation. nesses based on their interests. Talk to us about the importance of learning about the industry before striding out. NICOLE: People think things happen overnight, but true success comes with ups and downs. Putting in work behind the scenes is a part of the process. I started in my mom’s kitchen, went to cosmetology school, and worked twelve to sixteen hours a day to develop a large clientele. If there is an area where you naturally excel and hope to pursue professionally, it’s important to learn that trade and practice it as often as you can. I worked in different salons and absorbed as much as I could, but I've always had an entrepreneurial spirit and knew one day I would have a salon of my own. You need to believe you can accomplish anything you put your mind to. I prayed to make sure this was the right direction for my life and just went for it. I stepped out on faith and God blessed my effort. I opened a salon in Wicker Park,
VIP: How did you go from stylist to entrepreneur? NICOLE: When I started, I didn’t have a lot of mentors. I was just very observant. And back then, there was no internet to easily access information, so you had to be vigilant if you really wanted to do something. And I was just very tenacious. Fear was there, you know, and I had a small amount of money to get started, but I declared, “I’m a hard worker. Nobody can outwork me. I’m going to figure this thing out.” I did a lot of research, a lot of observing, asked a lot of questions. Fear was definitely there, but I did it anyway. I prayed a lot during that time and just stepped out there. I see a lot of people open salons right away, and managing it gets out of control. It’s always best to start small and learn how to systematically manage your business. The first three years, you’re still learning business management, marketing, finances, and customer retention. Entrepreneurs are perfectionists by nature, and we struggle with relinquishing control. But it’s impossible to have growth as an entrepreneur without delegation. expanded my business when I started to experience burnout, but I had high expectations and wouldn’t settle for anything less than excellence. My vision for the future was wider than the space I was in. VIP: I talk with young entrepreneurs all the time, and one of my biggest things is that you must see it before it happens. I’m a big advocate of vision boards. A lot of people figure out how to create vision boards digitally,
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but I like the old school vision boards where you cut words and pictures from magazines. NICOLE: Me too. I have my big pizza construction board. I like the process of creating a vision board. You think about a word or picture and you look for them in a magazine and cut them out. I feel like it really helps you to connect with your vision.
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I create a vision board every year and when I accomplish something, I replace it with a new goal. It’s important for business owners to visualize their goals. Write them down in a journal or create a vision board. Without realizing it, you'll begin to accomplish what you see on your vision board.
VIP: You are the personal stylist for Oprah Winfrey, one of the most significant women in history. How did that happen? NICOLE: Oprah was on my vision board. I thought maybe I would do work on her show, but I never imagined being her personal hairstylist. I put in the work long before this opportunity presented itself. Years
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of styling a wide range of clients and producing high quality work gave me a good reputation in the industry. I had owned my salon for fifteen years, but I wasn’t fulfilled in my role as an entrepreneur and hairdresser. I felt like there was something bigger I needed to do. A friend who used to work at my salon referred me to Andre Walker,
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Oprah’s former personal hairstylist. He was planning to retire and was searching for a replacement. We met, chatted, and I cut his hair that day. He said, “I think you’d be a really good fit, but it’s up to her. I’ll make the introduction and we’ll see what happens.” I met with Oprah and did her hair several times, so that’s how the
opportunity unfolded. Six months later, I was working for her full-time. I encourage every entrepreneur to put the dream out there. Dream big, write it down, and network. VIP: How did you prepare for your interview with the Queen? NICOLE: It was mostly mental preparation. As a professional
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hairdresser for nearly 25 years, I’d acquired everything I needed to excel in that moment. I just had to remind myself of that. Of course, when fear kicks in you wonder, Am I good enough? But you stop and ask, “Why not me?” If you have confidence and believe in yourself, then others will believe in you too. I did my best and trusted that it was enough, but I felt like the position was already mine. That’s the mindset I had going in, but I can’t say my hands weren’t shaking when I was curling. I am so grateful that I can do what I love, and that I get to do it on the Queen. VIP: You mentioned that your success was not overnight. Let’s dive deeper and discuss why professionalism and loving what you do are essential for entrepreneurs. NICOLE: High-quality service and a good reputation; I can’t stress enough how important these areas are with your brand or business. People talk, and in our industry word travels fast. As a stylist, I want each person who sits in my chair to feel like he or she is the only one who exists. I focus on my client, our conversation, and making him or her look good. In that moment, nothing else matters. My good reviews, referrals, and high-profile clients are a result of my dedication to excellence. We must debunk this notion of success happening in months. Nothing in business, or entrepreneurship, is as immediate as people think. It is an uphill climb, a constant
You need to believe you can accomplish anything you put your mind to.
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grind. There were a lot of long days and early mornings, and I wanted to give up so many times. That’s why it’s important to really love what you’re doing.
VIP: You are the personal stylist for Oprah Winfrey, but I also know that you've styled several other celebrities. Who else have you styled? NICOLE: I have styled Michelle Obama, Gayle King, Kelly Rowland, Michelle Williams, Macy Gray, Fantasia, Mellody Hobson, and Sanaa Lathan. Also, Valerie Jarrett, a woman I respect for what she has done for our country.
VIP: What are some of the upcoming hair trends? NICOLE: I expect that there will be more natural hair and hairstyles depicted in mainstream media and with celebrities. We’re in this new age where embracing the real, authentic you is being echoed all over the world, especially with women of color. Our self-acceptance is rippling into other areas, but especially with beauty and haircare. Naturalistas are here to stay! Also, bright vivacious hair color trends are continuing to emerge every season. People are all about
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self-expression and distinguishing themselves from others. There’s no better way to do this than altering your hair. Custom wigs and temporary hair dyes, trends that are tailored towards individualism, are definitely trending. VIP: Bailey Officer, an 11-year-old from Alabama, wants her hair to be curly, not poofy. What can she do to produce a defined, curly texture? NICOLE: I’m assuming that she was putting products on her hair, and allowing it to air dry without styling, to create the texture she wanted. I would find a product that works with her hair texture. If she has wavy hair or loose curls, she should use a product with less oil and more hold. Curl custards and curl defining whips with light holds will work better with this hair type. If she has a kinkier texture, she’ll want to use thick hair lotions or creamy, oil-based leave-in conditioners. She can even pair mousse with a heavy conditioner. Our hair has natural curl patterns but to eliminate frizz, apply product on damp hair then style and let your hair completely dry. For naturals, twist and braid-outs are typically successful for creating frizz-less curls; for relaxed hair, flexi rods create more volume and curls. It all depends on her texture and how her hair responds to certain products. VIP: One of the most frustrating and beautiful realities of having curly hair is the variety of textures that fall under the “curly” category. Hair aficionados and newbies alike know that products for curly hair are never one-sizefits-all. Can you offer any advice regarding this situation?
NICOLE: I combine products that work well together to produce the result I’m looking for. Use a product or two and see what effect that has on your hair, then take note of what you like or dislike as well as how the product reacts to your hair. Experimentation is part of the process. VIP: Asha Doe is 15 years old and she wants to wear her naturally curly hair, but years of heat and chemical damage has changed her pattern and caused thinning. How can she restore her natural curl pattern? NICOLE: If she gets relaxers, the product could have over-processed her hair. Weekly deep conditioning treatments will maintain consistent hydration. She should also begin taking hair supplements with biotin, which promotes hair growth. However, she should check with her physician first, to ensure she won’t have a negative reaction to the supplements. VIP: Amber Humphreys, an actress and entrepreneur, wants to know what protective styles help to grow hair? NICOLE: If it’s summertime and you’re going swimming a lot, braids might be the best option. Make sure they’re not too tight, and be sure to use a clarifying shampoo and conditioner right after swimming in salt water. In the colder months, if you typically wear hats or scarves, you might want to try two strand twists. You should also protect the ends of your hair from rubbing against harsh fibers by wearing a loose bun, or using banana clips and bobby pins. VIP: What is one thing that women should never do to their hair? NICOLE: For me, it’s more about moderation. Sometimes, women overdo it with chemicals, heat stylers, weaves, and braids. If you do the same style for an extended period, you’ll see hair loss or thinning around your hairline. Periodically changing your styles will give your hair a chance to recover from damage. If you flat iron your hair daily, try a protective style or pull your hair into a ponytail for a few days.
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Dream big, write it down, and network. Michelle Williams
VIP: What are your hobbies? NICOLE: I love shoes! Shoes are one of my favorite things. I’m also a foodie and I enjoy gourmet cooking, so I have quite a few cookbooks, and a lot of good things up my sleeve in the kitchen. Traveling is another favorite activity of mine. I love experiencing countries that are rich in culture and have historical resonance. I really enjoyed the different places I went to in Italy, such as Florence. It was one of my favorite places—a quaint city with a lot of history. I loved going to Rome and seeing the ruins, the coliseum, and catacombs. I also did an African safari in Stellenbosch, right outside of Cape Town. Being in nature, I felt so much peace and appreciation for the Earth. It was incredible. For more information about Nicole Mangrum and her upcoming events, or to ask additional questions, contact her on Instagram @NicoleMangrumHair.
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list
Top 20 Influencers
who are changing the game
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s businesses use social media to promote products and build brand loyalty, social media influencers are increasing in popularity and value. From Tiktok to Instagram to YouTube and beyond, digital enthusiasts are creating internet-breaking content and establishing themselves as credible, social media-certified icons. Listed below are entertainers, public figures, and entrepreneurs who have worked to make a lasting and profitable imprint on our social media-driven digital platforms. Check out VIP Global Magazine’s Top 20 influencers to keep an eye on in 2021.
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1. Nate Garner 2.2m Followers
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ate Garner is widely known for his good looks, his presence on Instagram often involves ad campaigns for various fashion and lifestyle brands. This was not always the case, Nate does stress the importance of working hard to maintain health, happiness, fitness, and financial freedom.
A YouTube personality turned Entrepreneur at Large, Nate Garner has developed his following organically earning 2.2 million followers on Instagram. Nate’s following originates from those who have interacted with his vines and grown into his transition to vlogs on Youtube detailing his day-to-day life. Garner often serves as a pillar for his community, sharing his experience battling and overcoming obstacles from childhood bullying, depression, and anxiety while keeping within the public eye.
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@nategarner
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2. Chiara Coco 807k Followers
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hiara Coco is the founder and owner of the German Fashion Streetstyle blog and YouTube channel ‘Culture with Coco.’ Chiara has since then migrated to the role as a digital creator on Instagram, which features many of Chiara’s adventures abroad exploring fashion, food, and culture. Her content captures exciting moments in time like overlooking sceneries, engaging in festivals, and that special moment before your first bite of delicious food... all while looking flawless in an excellent outfit.
This creative’s content is digestible and appeals to the importance of consistent branding and brand storytelling, validating her following and amazing brand deals strewn just as effortlessly and elegantly about her page. Chiara’s essence brings about a free spirited, everyday girl nature in a high-class package. Click & Visit
@culturewithcoco
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3. Stephanie Buttermore 627k Followers
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well-established athlete and Youtube personality, Stephanie Buttermore is most well known for her “All In” series online which challenges the Set-Point theory and earning her critical reviews from all over the world. In this series, Stephanie subverts the social norm and documents her experience going “All In.” That is, eating intuitively without restrictions in calorie count or the contents of what she craves. The result documented her experience quickly gaining a substantial amount of weight, then reverting to her “ideal” set weight and maintaining excellent athletic skill.
This is no fad, but rather a critical theory relating to diet, metabolism, and the idea that the body will often try to operate intuitively. This is culturally counterintuitive to many personalities online who strive to maintain a specific physique at all times. Stephanie has given back to the health, wellness, and fitness community, by sharing the aftermath of her new lifestyle, fitness regimes, and continuously sharing her findings with her community. Click & Visit
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4. Dannella MunĚƒoz 566k Followers
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ased in Miami, Florida, Dannella Munoz is a personal trainer priding on her ability to change women's bodies and mindsets. She empowers women of all sizes to fall in love with fitness as a mode of meditation, manifestation, and all-around feel-good energy. She is particularly well known for hosting a series of fitness challenges where women can convene online, offer support, and accountability toward each other, making sure to establish a healthy relationship between mind, body, soul, and community.
Dannella owns two businesses: Danimunozfit offers fitness guides and gym equipment, while For the Peach operates as her gym apparel company. This is truly a testament to the strength and support of her community, for which she shows gratitude in the form of giveaways, gift cards, discounts, and the occasional offer to pay for a follower’s rent. Click & Visit
@danimunozfit
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5. Robby Hayes
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417k Followers
rowing up, Robby always found himself close to the water. Raised in Florida and an alumnus of Florida State, the All-American swimmer competed in the 2012 Olympic Trials, where shortly after, he accepted a sports sales job based out of Italy.
In the summer of 2016, Robby was introduced to the influential media world after his participation on ABC’s The Bachelorette. Getting more immersed in his new world through follow up television work on MTV, Bravo, and ABC, he founded Rubella as a way to continue traveling the world, help revolutionize creative marketing through social media, and share the knowledge he’s obtained through what has become a life-changing experience. “Connectors and networking. People helping people. We’re all in this together and want to see each of us succeed. I am always willing to make an introduction,” Hayes says. Click & Visit
@roberthunter89
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6. Jessi Than 248k Followers
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essi Than is a fitness coach who empowers women to take control of their mindset for fitness, in favor of simply enjoying an active lifestyle. Her background involves an unhappiness with her physique, as most fitness personalities’ do. However, Jessi mentions her story is entirely different. She was, “too skinny” growing up without paying much attention to her exercise or diet.
“That didn’t mean I didn’t hate the body I was in,” she states. “I had never played any sport in school so I was extremely unfit, I couldn’t even do a pushup on my knees.” While reminiscing, Jessi often mentions the mindset change she needed to start seeing serious results. She began to set goals for herself just to challenge herself in her movement. Paying attention to nutrition alongside her new fitness regime, Jessi began seeing results, and felt inspired to share her story and methods with her followers. Click & Visit
@jessi_than
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7. Stephanie Laurette 201k Followers
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tephanie Lauretta, AKA Lee from Beauty by Lee, is a lifestyle blogger, Internet personality, and makeup artist. While she runs her business with a CEO mindset, she also must play the role model and caretaker for her three kids. Lee documents her lifestyle traveling across the world as a boss. “A lot of my dreams came true like being in huge campaigns, magazines, and in store makeup aisles,” Lee says.
Lee’s content appeals to many working CEO mothers, detailing her struggles and her outlook of having two kids under two years and third by the end of 2019 before the pandemic. As her motto and blog say: Life Happens. Through this mindset she’s fostered a wide community of over 201k followers on Instagram, most of which are aspiring entrepreneurs juggling business, maintaining a family in quarantine, and creating content in the digital space. Click & Visit
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8. Krista DeBono
146k Followers
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former NFL cheerleader for the New York Jets, Krista DeBono has starred in CBS’s The Amazing Race alongside teammate Tiffany Torres. Now a speech pathologist by trade, Krista has dedicated her life to helping students with special needs by providing speech therapy to children ages 3 to 8. Krista also documents her life online as a public figure by sharing and celebrating her travels, milestones, and entrepreneurial ventures while sometimes collaborating with brands to host giveaways and product ads. She has effectively made an incredible career after dancing by investing into multiple streams of passive income and is a prime example of someone who integrates the CEO mentality while raising children and starting a family.
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@krista_kimberly
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9. Nneka Ibeabuchi 150k Followers
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neka Ibeabuchi is a fashion model, fashion influencer and creative director born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria. She currently resides in Los Angeles, CA, doing what she does best, “being a dope creative.” Ibeabuchi would like to see more entrepreneurs genuinely supporting each other and giving out helpful information to others. “There’s room for all of us to win. I’m big on helping people, especially when I know it’s difficult out here for new entrepreneurs. People tend to hide or hold onto helpful information because they feel as though the other person will surpass them. But in all reality, when it’s your time, it's your time. God will never leave you hanging.”
Click & Visit
@africanjawn
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10. Dana Emmanuelle Jean Nozime 143k Followers
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ana Emmanuelle-Jean Nozime is a model, digital creative, and thought leader working from home. She is known for her clean high-end style in varied shades of white, stark blacks, and neutrals, alongside imagery featuring luxury home environments and incredible set dressings.
Like many of us, Dana’s lifestyle has adapted to working from home. Unlike some of us, she’s been doing it since before the pandemic. As a result, the aesthetic has produced incredible imagery and iconography across her work the past few months and even the past year. Her pictures more often feature Dana in a great outfit posing for a selfie in front of a mirror. However, her sense of elegance in front of the camera is truly what captures the attention of her following. Her work has earned her followers on Instagram alone, a platform she also utilizes to comment against social injustices.
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11. Autum Rainn 98.8k Followers
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utum is a competitive dancer turned digital creative and influencer who is sought out for her innovative take on lifestyle blogging. After pursuing what seems like a lifetime of dancing, Autum turned to digital media as a new outlet where she could continue to use her eyes for color, shapes, and design, while sharing her thoughts and inspiring others. Her blog captures a little bit of everything from fashion, beauty, food, social media, home decor, and everyday events living with her boyfriend, Noah, and cat, Binks.
Click & Visit
@autumrainn
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12. Taylor Price 101k Followers
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aylor Price is a TikTok personality and founder of financial education platform, TAP Intuit. TAP Intuit is a financial education platform that provides financial literacy to students, enabling them to take control of their personal finances and make their money work for them. Taylor launched this platform in early 2019 and has since grown where students worldwide are committing to transforming their lives through personal finances.
For Taylor, content creation has always been a passion. Not only does she understand how to communicate complicated financial concepts to her peers, but she has also broadened the online education space to social media through TAP. In an effort to change the way we talk about finance, Taylor has demonstrated the importance of learning today to stay wealthy tomorrow. Click & Visit
@pricelesstay
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13. Tori Dunlap 89.3k Followers
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fter saving $100,000 at age 25, I quit my corporate job in marketing and founded Her First $100K, to fight financial inequality by giving women actionable resources to better their money,” Tori reveals. Tori has helped over 700,000 women negotiate salary, pay off debt, build savings, and invest. A Plutus Award Winner and 425 Magazine’s “Woman to Watch”, Tori’s work has been featured on Good Morning America, the Today Show, the New York Times, TIME, PEOPLE, New York Magazine, Forbes, CNBC, and more. One of her biggest priorities in life has always been to reach financial independence. Starting her first business at the age of 9, Tori has evolved her skills since childhood to develop a well-rounded perspective in saving, investing, and negotiating. She owes much of that to her parents, who made sure she had a strong financial education at a young age. Click & Visit
@ herfirst100k vipglobalmagazine.com
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14. Antthony Mark Hankins 52.7k Followers
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ntthony Mark Hankins is an American fashion designer and founder of design studios, Anthony Design Originals and Antthony Designs, both of which are featured on QVC and HSN Network Channels. From as early as 13 years old, Antthony’s mission was to create luxurious, beautiful, and smart clothing for women. By his mid-twenties, he had built a $40 million business and was named one of the top 100 people to watch in America by Newsweek. Antthony represents one of many minority businesses flourishing in the online space and is a prominent figurehead that has adapted to and promoted diversity online. Click & Visit
@antthonymarkhankins
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15. Jessica Ward 49k Followers
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essica Ward is most widely known for her educational resources and coaching services within the Virtual Assistant industry. This previous Summer, Jessica was motivated to quit her corporate job to begin freelancing as a Virtual Assistant, quickly raising her pricing to earn $9k months in profit and eventually earning a six-figure salary within four months of hard work, dedication to clients, and dedication to optimizing her time and investments. The four-month turnaround time to triple her corporate salary has earned Jessica a feature in Yahoo! News among other publications for outstanding and innovative entrepreneurial achievement. Now serving as a coach, Jessica adopts a “yes you can� mentality and reassures her growing fan base that anyone with internet access can grow to earn a living wage from the comfort of their home, and security in owning their business. Her social media acts as a free resource containing over 7 hours of free content covering the basics of starting and maintaining a business and CEO mindset. Click & Visit
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16. Mila Holmes 52.1k Followers
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ila Holmes is a social media and visibility strategist and one of many up-and-coming Tiktok personalities making strides toward educating their following on virtual work and its accessibility. Mila is proud of her six-figure salary increase since beginning self-employment via her LLC two years ago after dropping out of high school, reassuring that anyone can learn, grow, and earn a living wage outside of corporate work.
She is now one of the most reliable coaches teaching others the ins and outs of social media strategy, brand management, and general business management both in free and paid to view content. Through her coaching, Mila has earned the testimonials of many students leaving their corporate job and taking the mantle of CEO. Mila frequently stresses that, “any experience is experience, you should be paid your worth,� when it comes to adopting the CEO mindset.
Click & Visit
@digitalmila
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17. Cassie Marin 43.1k Followers
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assi is primarily known for her music, modeling, and key sense of fashion. As a growing entrepreneur, her challenges include setting boundaries for herself, learning how to be self-disciplined while maintaining healthy relationships, and setting time aside for her own self-care. It seems these challenges have only moved Cassie forward, earning her a string of successful modeling campaigns and music releases in the Summer of 2020 alone.
“Focus on your dream,” Cassie states. “What makes you unique is your journey, your story. It’s easy to compare and feel the weight of the world on the internet, but ultimately and most importantly, your dream will always belong to you and only you, so chase it!”
Click & Visit
@cassiemarin
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18. Bree
43.7k Followers
B
ree is a jewelry designer and ex-game developer from Canada. She is known for her brand, BISOULOVELY, a jewelry brand inspired by all things magical, celestial, and ethereal.
“I’d love to see more artists in the entrepreneurial space,” says Bree. “All my life I've been told being an artist would lead to a life of starvation, but I learned how to turn my artistic style into a business.” Right she is, her creations, fast growing team, and dedication to excellent service to her clients has solidified her company to be featured multiple times over in Vogue UK, Vanity Fair, Elle, and others. Click & Visit
@bisoulovely
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19.Amanda Fre 21.1k Followers
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manda is a model known for her ability to story tell within the fashion industry. When it comes to her modeling style, she always tried staying true to herself. Amanda strives to tell a story rather than perform and consequently feel like a mannequin. “That thought process was really inspired by wanting to bridge the gap between the product and the consumer in an intimate and vulnerable way,� says Fre. Fre treats her work with brands as a special experience, like a partnership where her goal is to evolve the pieces through feeling. This process plays a big part in representing brands across the digital marketplace, often inspiring others to see their inner selves in her, and the pieces as modes of expression.
Click & Visit
@frezarr
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20. Willow Kaii 11.5k Followers
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illow Kaii is your go-to guy for all things personal branding and Pinterest. After leaving the Agency world of LA, he pivoted his energy into helping other young and ambitious creatives launch their own personal brands and use Pinterest as their driving force. Willow debuted his strategies in the coaching space after launching BoldxBoho with his fiancÊ Becca which sells website templates for online coaches and other female service-providers, all organically. These days, you’ll find Kaii giving free value-added tips on his Tiktok, or working heads down with his clients, helping them launch as the go-to businesses in whatever niche they’re in. Click & Visit
@willowkaii
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Push Your LIMITS and Stand in Your
PURPOSE
Senada
GRECA'S Guide to STRENGTH INSIDE and OUT WE ARE LIVING THE INDOOR LIFE, SO NOW MORE THAN EVER WE NEED TO STAY PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY FIT. IN LIGHT OF THAT, WE ARE EXCITED TO SHARE OUR INTERVIEW WITH SENADA GRECA, CELEBRITY TRAINER AND FITNESS INFLUENCER.
health & fitness
"F
itness for me is daily therapy,” Greca says. “It goes beyond short term challenges, New Year’s resolutions and bikini season! It’s an integral part of my life that has truly transformed me from the outside in.”
Health and fitness helped Greca to find her purpose, and now she owns a fitness business. However, she is quick to tell you that there were no shortcuts—that building a business is mostly about dedication and hard work. Whether it’s filming Instagram workouts for her 2.3 million followers, sharing tips to live a healthy lifestyle, or coming up with nutritious meals, this fitness expert always brings her A-game. How did you get started in the Health and Fitness industry? After graduating from college, I started working long hours in the finance world in New York City while also completing a master’s degree. After a few years, I started searching for something more fulfilling and shifted to the medical industry. Unfortunately, I still felt trapped in a corporate world where work truly felt like work. What didn’t feel like a chore was movement —of any shape or form.
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I had known for a long time that my calling was to help others, to be of service. Knowing what movement had done for me, physically and mentally, I connected the dots. I realized that I could help others on a large scale do the same. While my MBA would eventually help in the business aspect of things, my drive, my passion, and my innate ability to connect with movement and help others do the same, were my springboard. I acquired the necessary accreditation for fitness, movement and yoga, but what was the most helpful and distinguishing factor was my hunger for information and experience, in not just moving properly but also moving mindfully. As stated in yogic teachings, and what is applicable in most scenarios, it is 99% practice and 1% theory. I am constantly learning from gurus, working to put teaching into practice, and listening closely to my body. Equipped with all of this knowledge and experience, I
decided to start sharing my full daily workouts on Instagram, in the hope of helping anyone and everyone that would come across my page. This brought about tremendous growth as people saw the value in what I was providing, absolutely free of charge. While my Instagram workouts provided a good starting point for the experienced user, I realized that I could provide a lot more direction and a more personal experience. This gave life to my online fitness business, which I started while still working full-time. Currently, I am able to focus 100% of my attention on growing Crush It Programs, which not only include customized programs for various levels of fitness all based on my workout philosophy, but also meal plans created in collaboration with certified nutritionists. Anyone who wants access to an enormous library of workouts can just follow me on Instagram.
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What inspired your passion for fitness? Movement has always been my therapy, even as a child growing up in communist Albania. After moving to the US as a teenager, sports was how I found friends. As an adult I have come to understand the powerful connection between fitness and peace of mind. Over the past couple of years, I have been exploring these connections, with trips to India to train with yogis and to Peru to learn from plant medicine under shamans. My personal experience has been I have come so positive that it drives me to want to understand to help others.
to fitness. Any day that I can inspire and guide others to make healthier choices through nutrition and exercise, and that I can help them tap into their potential and love of life, that’s a good day for me.
the powerful connection between fitness and peace of mind.
Today, I find a lot of inspiration from members of the Crush It Crew. Seeing how people’s whole attitude can change when they commit to living a healthier lifestyle brings tears to my eyes. While the external transformation can be impressive, it is the look in their eyes and the smiles that emanate from their souls that really gets me. What was your vision when you started, and how has it evolved? Like many people, I have battled low self-esteem, low self-confidence and other demons. Early on I was lucky enough to have help finding my way. I wanted to return that favor and help others find their path
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That being said, what has been surprising to me is the ways in which fitness can provide social connections, which is particularly important during the COVID-19 crisis. Connecting and sharing with others, even if it’s on Instagram, Facebook, or video conference, has been a lifeline for a lot of people, including me.
For me, daily movement is about connecting with my body, quieting my mind, and being present. I like to wake up at 5:45 a.m., drink a bunch of water, and get right to working out. I focus on strength training because it is where I find I can get the most rewards both physically and mentally. I move every day, with one day a week being a day of active rest like hiking or going for a bike ride. After my workout, I grab some coffee and head outside to walk my dog. I also use this time to focus on gratitude.
Tell us about the fitness regimen and nutrition plan that you are currently using to stay in shape.
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health & fitness What is your advice for someone who wants to live a healthier lifestyle? A lot of people start working out for aesthetics—to improve how they look or hit a weight goal. Those can be powerful motivators in the short term; but in the long term, those kinds of goals won’t get you to the gym when you just don’t feel like it. It is too easy to negotiate yourself right out of a workout. What’s the harm in missing one workout, right? That is why I believe in finding your “why.” By getting clear on why you want fitness as part of your life, fitness will become a priority and something you “get to do,” versus “have to do.” I am a happier, more productive, and clearer-thinking person with exercise. That’s my “why.” For nourishment, I tend to eat pretty clean. Breakfast usually includes eggs or oatmeal with a lot of protein. Lunch is also lean proteins like chicken, turkey or fish, and some veggies. I find if I prepare my lunch ahead of time, I tend to eat better. My partner and I enjoy cooking dinner together. What is the best way for someone to stay motivated and consistent with a workout schedule? Start small and build. Focus on one day at a time and don’t worry about yesterday or tomorrow. Make movement a habit. Look at your schedule and carve out time each day to be active, then commit to making it happen. One day becomes two, two becomes three, then a habit is formed, like brushing your teeth. Novelty is also really important. While there is great value in repetition and mastering specific movements, muscles need guessing games too. Our bodies are amazing and can quickly adapt, but when we adapt, what was once a challenge is now easier. I like to make small changes to basic movements–even a percent change in the angle of a leg lift. This adjustment creates a completely new exercise for the muscles and the mind.
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Start small and build. Focus on one day at a time and don’t worry about yesterday or tomorrow.
Tell us about the fitness programs that you offer and the purpose behind them. What inspired you to create these programs? I believe novelty is key for so many people when it comes to making fitness sustainable. That is what I set out to achieve when I created the Crush It and CrusHIIT programs. Incorporating dynamic movements along with more traditional movements, and a complete change of exercises at specific points, the programs offer members something different.
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The Crush It 12-week programs offer three levels: Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced. They are designed to take a member on a journey from the building stages of the Beginner program, if this is where the member is starting, to ultimately graduating to the Crush It 8-week Expert program, which is the next level beyond Advanced. If members are going back to the gym, they can utilize the Crush It Gym 12week program. This takes the same approach while utilizing equipment not typically found in an individual’s home. Finally, I built the CrusHIIT programs that offer 12 different High Intensity Interval Training sessions, which a l s o h a v e t h re e levels of difficulty. Each session is 38 minutes in duration, including rest time. So, if you’re looking for a quick, no- nonsense sweat session, this is your answer.
How has the pandemic changed the Fitness industry? What adjustments have you made to facilitate your clients? The pandemic has made clear the connection between physical health and mental health. I hear from so many people who tell me that moving their bodies every day is what keeps them sane. But with gyms and fitness classes being so limited, virtual training and workouts have become a lifeline for people. Without access to the gym, people are also looking to make do with little to no equipment at home. Luckily, I have developed a well-known reputation for creative workouts. You could say they are my signature. So, I saw this as a huge opportunity. It’s amazing the work out you can do with chairs, rocks, scarves or even just your body weight, and these workouts have really caught fire during the pandemic. In January 2020, before the pandemic, I had about 2,000 followers on Instagram. Now I have 2.3 million, and that number has been increasing by 100,000 a month.
Patience and discipline are everything.
What is the most important lesson you’ve learned since becoming an entrepreneur? When someone tells you to find what you are passionate about and pursue that, believe them. Building a business is hard work. The hours can be long. But when you love what you do, it’s a lot easier to put in the time. Having said that, balance is also important. I incorporate mindfulness practices during the week, as well as enjoy time with friends and family. You have to give yourself a grace period.
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What is your advice to aspiring entrepreneurs who would like to enter the Health and Fitness industry? Patience and discipline are everything. Patience is necessary because in most cases, an individual’s level of success is dependent on how quickly
her following grows. It can be a big ask to maintain a level head while watching other influencers’ follower counts take off. The data analytics available to social media influencers is robust enough that an individual can track every little detail, often creating angst when someone else’s metrics outpace their own. Discipline is also critical because consistency, day in and day out, is everything. In order to succeed in a space that is inundated with talented and hardworking people, grinding every day for an extended period of time is a must. YouTube and Instagram are no longer greenfield environments. The formula for success is now understanding ever-evolving algorithms and simply putting in the work. I’m a huge fan of Gary Vaynerchuk. He encourages influencers to document everything, because everyday life is now content. However, this means everyday life is work. Finally, be a master of your trade. Influencers, whether on social media or in the gym, can literally impact millions on a global scale, so be mindful and provide honest and meaningful information. Almost from the first follower, experts have a fiduciary responsibility to put the people that look up to them first. How are you using your platform to inspire change? I am trying to help people move past short-term challenge trends like “Get Abs in 2 Weeks” or “4 Weeks to a Bikini Body.” While these can be a good intro to fitness, they will not result in real change. I have seen time
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and again why so many well-meaning people struggle to get fit. It’s because they haven’t found their “why”—that compelling reason that drives them to be physically active every day. When people focus on the “what,” such as dropping x pounds or fitting into certain clothes again, it is just too nebulous, making it easier to negotiate out of working out. But when you have a “why,” it is both personal and specific. Its role is to be an orienteering point, one that is personally meaningful enough to compel you to get out of bed an hour earlier to work out instead of rolling over for more Z’s, and resonant enough to cut through the noise and lift you above the daily and hourly distractions that are so good at sapping your motivation to exercise. What’s in the works? It’s a super exciting time right now. One silver lining of the pandemic for me has been a greater openness to partnering with people from around the world. We’re all only a Zoom call away, whether that’s down the street or in Australia or the UK. Through these relationships I have been able to explore a couple of entrepreneurial ventures that I am planning to launch in the first half of 2021.
Visit Senada at
senadagreca.com
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Are
Your HAIR PRODUCTS hurting you? HAIR CHEMICALS, FIBROIDS, and BREAST CANCER by Dr. Melanye Maclin, M.D.
N
ews regarding use of hair chemicals and a major health issue officially emerged in December 2019. Let me first begin by stating that I am not against chemical hair relaxers or dyes. My first relaxer was at age 10, but my last one was at age 30, a year after starting my hair research company and gaining knowledge about potential serious health links.
absorb and ‘burn’ into your scalp through the numerous pores, cuts, and scratches found there. These chemicals can not only damage your hair roots, but more importantly absorb into your scalp’s blood vessels, therefore entering your main bloodstream. This can result in your body producing hormone-disrupting chemicals affecting both your reproductive system and breasts.
Many have assumed for years that it was ridiculous that hair chemicals or dyes could affect the reproductive system. However, the chemicals—especially the sodium hydroxide in lye relaxers, and the various hydroxides (calcium, lithium, and guanine) in no-lye relaxers, texturizers and kiddie perms—
Since 1999, I have studied thousands of hair loss cases, many of which were a result of chemical relaxers. However, it was interesting that many of these women were also suffering from uterine fibroids (noncancerous growths). The fibroids cause longer and heavier monthly bleeding, which can
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result in having to take iron information. It is especially the pills for anemia. In fact, when early and constant exposure that studies were published in 2011 makes one more likely to suffer linking chemical hair relaxers to hormone disruption. Therefore, it early menses before age ten, has been my ongoing passion to uterine fibroids, infertility, and educate against the use of hair early hysterectomy (before the chemicals in girls under 18 years age of 40), I was not surprised, old. In fact, for the production of as I had already suspected a the 2009 Chris Rock film Good potential link in the early 2000s.   Hair, I specifically gave expert advice about adverse hair issues Now an even more serious health from using chemical relaxers link to hair chemicals has been too early in our girls. However, confirmed. In December 2019, given the more serious health the National Institutes of Health links, we must be extra cautious. (NIH) released an eight-year If you are over 18 years old study of over 46,000 women of with no hormone health issues, all races between the ages of 35 yet you still desire to use hair and 74, linking chemical hair re- chemicals, please protect the laxers and semi-permanent hair entire scalp with a petroleum dyes to breast cancer. However, base to reduce absorption, or African American women had use natural alternatives. an astounding 45% increase of breast cancer risk compared Please join me in helping to to other races, with the relaxers spread this critical health incausing more issues. formation. For those suffering hair loss, check out the dermaWith this major new health link tologist developed natural hair to breast cancer, in addition supplement BellaNutri. Your hair to the reproductive issues, we roots can become revived to must continue to sound the grow hair thicker, faster, longer alarm and share this powerful and healthier.
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Tanjie
BREWER FITNESS
SENSATION
shares what WORKING OUT AND STAYING ACTIVE has taught her
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When the word fitness comes to the mind of many, it’s often wrapped around a persona, an ideal body type, or maybe a thought that it will take a lot to maintain. Some also see it as a destination that’s too challenging to reach. For a moment and while reading, I want you to erase your current definition of fitness and explore it fresh. It is a journey that we all are gifted to take, and it is not a destination that anyone will ever make.
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than what can be bargained for. If you look around your home, is there anything to support your fitness goals? Have you purchased a treadmill, peloton bike, elliptical, weight set, a variety of resistance bands, or even that exclusive platinum gym membership card on your key chain? Or, have you put more money into TV’s, expensive furniture, handbags, or that beautiful shiny car in your garage?
A WORD THAT IS TIMELESS AND FITTING FOR EVERYONE. Beginning with fit and adding “ness” upgrades that simple word to define a part of one’s health. When you add “ness” to the end of a word, it means that it is the quality of state or condition. Therefore, fitness is the condition of being fit and it is the quality of one’s life. I think that we all can agree that quality is important. Take that cheap pair of shoes for an example. Many of us can attest to buying for style rather than quality once or twice in our life. That material doesn’t give, and it confines those precious toes. You discover this when you pull them from your closet for a long night out on the town. Shortly into your exciting evening, you feel your feet throbbing and you don’t want to take another step and you ask yourself, “why didn’t I purchased a quality pair?” A wonderful evening interrupted by a decision that didn’t serve you well. Now ask yourself this question. Am I stepping into the quality of being fit and walking in true fitness? Or am I hesitant to take another step because of the exhaustion and aches of life? If you answer the latter question, it’s time for you to upgrade what being fit means to you and add your ness! Here are some tips.
GET SERIOUS ABOUT FITNESS. MAKE AN INVESTMENT!
When you make an investment, you are making an exchange for what you believe will yield higher returns. Did you know that after we turn 25 years old, we begin to lose muscle and from then on, our body mass index (BMI) continues to change? Losing muscle can lead to osteoporosis, while negative changes in BMI can lead to obesity, diabetes, and heart disease to name a few. However, there is hope and that hope is fitness. The return that fitness will yield from intentional investments is often greater
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GET INTO A FLOW AND BE FLEXIBLE.
Fitness must have an everyday flow in your life. Just like eating, going to work, or kissing the person you love, fitness should be a continual and a conscious thought. To achieve this, I recommend setting your workout in your daily schedule as a high priority that cannot be cancelled. This simply means that if the workout doesn’t happen during the time allotted, you will shift it to another part of your day. Too often, fitness is penciled in and erased by life’s many interruptions. Left as a second thought to get to tomorrow or later in the week. It’s vital to know that with fitness comes flexibility. Understand and be flexible with the idea that the route may change. Meaning, the way that you thought you were going to work out that day may not happen. For example, if you were going to the gym and all of a sudden, your sitter cancels, you have to now do your work out at home. Flexibility then is not just about the ability to shift your time but also your
Photos by Vern West / VWest Images
FITNESS.
We often invest in what we believe holds value and will give us a favorable return. Let’s look at the return that investing in a simple quality treadmill will yield you. It’s an exceptional piece of equipment that allows you to run, speed walk, and work on all your heart rate zones. It keeps you accountable to speed and time and takes away the excuse that it is snowing or raining. Studies show that doing just thirty minutes of cardio everyday can improve your cardiovascular health, prevent chronic illnesses, improve your sleep, prevent premature death, and allow you to function optimally overall. Therefore, when you have quality fitness equipment at your fingertips, it’s clear that you value your health and desire to live long and strong. It’s ok to have that nice big screen TV. Just know that doing your cardio while watching it could increase the amount of days you can enjoy it.
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When you make fitness a priority, the physical results will be revealed, and others can see the mental results as well. method. If your favorite restaurant closed early, you would find a way to eat. Fitness must also be just as important. Don’t let the day stop your fitness flow.
FITNESS WILL HELP YOU STAND CONFIDENTLY IN YOUR PURPOSE.
It’s important to understand that there is a direct correlation between fitness and the way that it causes one to stand tall in the beauty of their purpose. If energy is lacking from day to day, it’s not easy to diligently go after goals and flawlessly execute. Feeling vivacious helps to maximize every opportunity. Not only that, but it attracts opportunities to us. When you make fitness a priority, the physical results will be revealed, and others can see the mental results as well. You will begin to reflect qualities like fortitude, tenacity, resilience, loyalty, and your passion for life. I recommend writing out your vision and next to it, your fitness goals that will help you achieve it. Know that every time you workout, you are pouring into the very purpose of your life. Your body houses your
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vision so having a strong one will elp you carry it out beyond your dreams.
PUSH BEYOND YOUR LIMITS
To achieve maximum results, you cannot continue to do what you’ve done in the past. For example, if your routine is to walk everyday around your neighborhood and return home to do a few sit-ups and squats without feeling challenged, it’s time to take it up a few notches. Your workouts must be designed to push you past your comfort zone. This should be happening regularly. There must also be a progression of strength and agility that is measurable. For example, an increase in the weights that you are using or the number of push-ups that you do. It could even be a reduction in the time it took you to run or speed walk around your neighborhood. We all have the ability to go higher and uncover strength we might not have known was there. When walking in true fitness, there is growth and evidence. Get serious, be flexible, stand strong in your purpose, and push beyond your limits!
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inspiration
A MYSTERIOUS DISEASE
PARALYZED HER at 32: What she did next will shock you by Courtney Runyon
HAVE YOU EVER HEARD SOMEONE’S STORY AND SUDDENLY YOUR PROBLEMS NO LONGER SEEM LIKE PROBLEMS ANYMORE IN COMPARISON? YOU KNOW... THOSE STORIES YOU SEE ON THE NEWS OF SOME GIRL OVERCOAMING SOME CRAZY HEALTH PHENOMENON YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF, AND YOU THINK TO YOURSELF,
At least I’m not her?
Well... I’m her.
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I
inspiration
’m the “poor girl,” in the news story, and the shocking viral video. The friend of a friend, ex-coworker’s daughter, and old acquaintance from high school who was living a normal, happy life when tragedy struck. I was a 32-year-old free spirit living in Las Vegas when it started. I remember walking out of my bedroom laughing to my then boyfriend about how I needed to start working out because my “old age” made me weaker overnight. But then within weeks, I started mysteriously going paralyzed. I loved my life. I was head over heels in love, had a great group of friends, and a good job. I meditated daily, exercised constantly, and spent all of my free time either traveling or crafting some type of healthy concoction in the kitchen out of whatever I could find at the farmer’s market that week. And sometimes it was even edible... ish. I danced, laughed, and lived my life in the sunshine. Let’s just say I wasn’t scared to get my hair wet.
Change is hard. Forced, painful, unwanted change is even harder. When I started to lose control of my body—I. Fought. Hard. I declared I would not allow whatever was happening to my body to win. I changed my diet and consumed every article about healing I could get my increasingly weak little hands on. Six months of tests and 53 different alternative treatments and therapies later—I was finally diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disorder called, Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy, also known as CIDP. Both arms were completely paralyzed, and I was having problems walking, but I was so relieved to have answers that my best friend snuck in a bottle of champagne into the hospital to celebrate—which she poured into my mouth while I was hanging upside down laughing from the bed when the nurse wasn’t looking.
Just because we hit a bump in the road, doesn’t mean we are on the wrong path.
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inspiration When I finally got the diagnosis, I blows out our light sometimes, but thought the worst was over. In fact, I what’s sad is when a good hearted, thought I would start treatment, make full of life person, never lights back a full recovery, and life will be even up again. It’s how we respond to better than before. life’s trade winds that But I got worse. I grew determines if our story weaker and weaker is an action-packed until I was paralyzed romantic thriller, or a You never from the neck down, sad tragedy. barely able to speak. In the last days of think something You never think somemy life, I want to look is going to happen back thing is going to hapat myself and to you... until pen to you... until it love who I see—a does. You think your hero in my own story. it does. health is good... until A woman who found it isn’t. And you think joy in the midst of her you’d never survive through your struggle and found new life through biggest fears... until you do. I feared her losses. I made it my mission to losing the life I loved, but not as love my life in a wheelchair just as much as I feared losing the future, much as my life before. I thought if I always dreamed I’d live. However, I could just find ways to enjoy my in a matter of months, I lost both. I lost my job, car, relationship, and home. And when the doctors said there was nothing else they could do, I moved into my parent’s house, halfway across the country from my friends and the life I loved, so they could feed, bathe, dress, and care for me. On New Year’s Day in 2018, just days after being released from the hospital, I was sitting in my wheelchair listening to music in my room when I realized something that saved my life. There was no promise of walking again, and the neurologist called the nerve damage in my hands “significant,” as in permanent. I was 33 years old, paralyzed from the neck down, struggling to speak, breathe, and swallow. I couldn’t feel anything from my elbows and knees down, my face was in the beginning stages of paralysis—and I thought to myself, “This could be really sad.” But what made me even more sorrowful was the thought of losing years of my life surviving them and wishing they were over, instead of being happy to be alive. It’s not what happens to a person that is sad. We all get hit with a gust of wind that
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new circumstances, then the stress and struggle would go away, and I would be okay. I started writing with my nose on my phone. It took me 3 days to write 3 paragraphs — but I didn’t care. I was writing. Rainbows and unicorns literally covered my walls, and I always looked like I just got done rolling around in Lady Gaga’s closet. My green wig was always a hit with the older ladies in the nursing home I lived in, and my friends pimped out my wheelchair. My only focus was to heal and be happy. And truth be told, being in the hospital is like a welcomed hall pass from having to make an effort to be perfect. So... it’s basically like a vacation. I made every joke I could think of, smiled at everyone
and their dogs, spent time with my family, and then something magical happened—I was happy. Courage comes from going into a challenge without fear of losing, and when you’re not afraid of the worst and you can find joy in any situation, you can’t lose. When you can’t lose, you are truly free to live. Making the choice to not allow myself to die inside while I was still alive saved my life. It was the difference between a life of being the “poor girl” whose light went out and being the “inspirational girl” whose fire lights up others in need. I spent 7 months in a wheelchair and an entire year without use of my arms. Since getting back on my feet again, I have hiked 500 miles across Spain, backpacked solo through Guatemala for 22 days, completed a 120-hour hatha yoga intensive, vipglobalmagazine.com
traveled through 3 continents, and just recently moved to a foreign country into my dream home. I’m closer to my family than ever, and I’ve created a business I’m proud of from the ashes of my gust of wind—all with disabilities. To this day I have limited use of my hands, and it’s very challenging to walk, but I’m living a life I love. Just because we hit a bump in the road, doesn’t mean we are on the wrong path. There is absolutely nothing about my life that looks the same as it did before my paralysis, but I’ll never get my old life back. You can’t get back what you never lost. I didn’t lose my life, my circumstances just changed. Who we were, who we are, and who we will become are not separate lives—they’re just different chapters of our heartbreaking, courageous,
Change is hard. Forced, painful, unwanted change is even harder. beautiful masterpiece of a life story. There is joy after a diagnosis, opportunity after disability, and life after life changes. Every day we have the option to look up and turn the page. There is so much uncertainty and fear in the world right now and it’s paralyzing, but with new circumstances come new opportunities to love your life in ways you’ve never known before. It’s a choice. Choose joy. Be your own hero and save your own life. 137
inspiration
10Ways
TO BUILD YOUR SELF-CONFIDENCE as a Woman by Bindu A. Chowritmootoo
Self-confident people are at ease with themselves and inspire confidence in others. If someone appears to have high confidence, it’s because he or she has worked to build it.
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he other day, I was late meeting a client. When I arrived, I handed my keys to the valet and quickly made my way towards the front door. Halfway there, I realized I forgot to look at my face before leaving my car. I stepped to the side of the building and looked at my reflection in the glass wall. I fixed my hair, applied lipstick, and smoothed my outfit then entered the building, greeting my client with a handshake. Smiling, he told me he was impressed with how
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quickly I had “refreshed” for our meeting. My client was able to see everything that was happening on the outside. Fortunately, my self-confidence allowed me to find humor in the situation. Self-confident people are at ease with themselves and they inspire confidence in others. If someone appear to have high confidence, it’s because he or she has worked to build it. A lack of self-confidence can impact your relationships, career advancement, and overall happiness.
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inspiration
Here are
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to build your self-confidence as a woman.
Knowledge is power
When you increase your knowledge personally and professionally, it adds to your confidence level. Reading self-help books or publications pertaining to your profession can increase intellectual growth. Not only will this add to your self-confidence, but it will also have a positive influence on others.
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Be comfortable in your skin
Take a moment to look in the mirror.
Catch a glance of the woman staring back at you. Your skin will change. Your hair will change. Overall, your body will change. Identify ways to age gracefully. Your age should not dictate how you feel.
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Schedule time for self-care
Confidence is built and maintained from the inside out. It’s important to carve out personal time to tend to your mental, physical, and spiritual health. Go to the spa, attend a yoga class, or take a long walk in the park. Taking time for yourself gives you the will power, patience, and energy to take care of others.
4
Choose your favorite body feature
Let’s try an exercise. Identify a favorite body feature of a close friend. Identifying your friends best feature may come easily. Now try this same exercise with yourself. If it does not come as easy, you are not alone. Identifying your favorite body feature will allow you to see your true beauty.
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Take a selfie
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Identifying your own beauty adds significantly to your confidence level. Take time to see what others see. Do not be shy. Strike a pose and capture the moment.
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Get out of your comfort zone
Find opportunities to step out of your comfort zone and learn something new. When you can conquer a challenge, build a new skillset, or establish a new habit, it adds to your confidence.
Slay the runway
You do not have to be a model to own the room or to get noticed. View every room as your own personal runway. Make eye to eye contact, smile, and trust in your ability to leave a lasting first impression.
Face your fears
Your fears can serve as a barrier to your personal growth. Acknowledge and face your fears. Instead of worrying about what could go wrong, focus on what could go right.
Celebrate your accomplishmentS
Acknowledge and celebrate your accomplishments by writing them down at least once a year. Doing this will put your career successes into perspective. Sometimes you just need a reminder of how talented and capable you are.
Allow yourself to make mistakes
Try not to be so hard on yourself when you make mistakes. Learning from your missteps increases your know-how and boosts your personal growth.
Are you ready to own your confidence? Rock your confidence. You are capable! You are amazing! You know it, so own it!
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Pasha's 15
books for entrepreneurs
Must-Read Books for Entrepreneurs What are the best books for entrepreneurs? There are many options. If you are looking for inspiration or practical advice and strategies to grow your business, we have you covered. Here is a list of Pasha’s top recommended books for entrepreneurs. These books offer cutting-edge insights and strategies to get you to the next level. 1. #GIRLBOSS
by Sophia Amoruso
2. CASHFLOW QUADRANT by Robert T. Kiyosaki
3. QUANTUM LEAP THINKING: AN OWNER'S GUIDE TO THE MIND by James J. Mapes
4. FEEL THE FEAR AND DO IT ANYWAY®: DYNAMIC TECHNIQUES FOR TURNING FEAR, INDECISION AND ANGER INTO POWER, ACTION AND LOVE by Susan Jeffers Ph.D.
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5.GIRL CODE: UNLOCKING THE SECRETS TO SUCCESS, SANITY, AND HAPPINESS FOR THE FEMALE ENTREPRENEUR by Cara Alwill Leyba
6. HOW TO WIN FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE by Dale Carnegie
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5.
6. TAP ON THE BOOK COVER
books for entrepreneurs
7. RISE AND GRIND: OUTPERFORM, OUTWORK, AND OUTHUSTLE YOUR WAY TO A MORE SUCCESSFUL AND REWARDING LIFE by Daymond John & Daniel Paisner
8. SHARK TALES: HOW I TURNED $1,000 INTO A BILLION DOLLAR BUSINESS by Barbara Corcoran & Bruce Littlefield
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9. THE TIPPING POINT: HOW LITTLE THINGS CAN MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE by Malcolm Gladwell
10. THE 12 WEEK YEAR: GET MORE DONE IN 12 WEEKS THAN OTHERS DO IN 12 MONTHS by Brian P. Moran & Michael Lennington
11. THE 4-HOUR WORKWEEK by Timothy Ferriss
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12. WHO YOU ARE WHEN NO ONE'S LOOKING: CHOOSING CONSISTENCY, RESISTING COMPROMISE by Bill Hybels
13. THE WEALTH CHOICE: SUCCESS SECRETS OF BLACK MILLIONAIRES by Dennis Kimbro
14. THINK AND GROW RICH: A BLACK CHOICE: A GUIDE TO SUCCESS FOR BLACK AMERICANS by Dennis Kimbro & Napoleon Hill
15. WHAT I KNOW FOR SURE by Oprah Winfrey
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celebrity news
When CELEBRITY and ACTIVISM meet
2020 was quite a year but we’ve pushed through to 2021. In 2020, many of us had to sit with some uncomfortable truths while spending a lot more time with family, friends, and the internet. The internet has been at the forefront of a lot of my entertainment and distraction to say the least. I’m sure I’m not the only one. by Georgette Pierre
T
he pandemic did a number on us, unearthing an unfortunate domino effect including permanent shutdowns of small businesses, many families experiencing limited access to basic needs and resources, a death toll that continues to rise, and loss of loved ones. We also saw where some of our favorite celebrities stood on social justice issues and how they showed up and showed out for those less fortunate. It was a bumpy and tone-deaf ride for some, but others made it count. Here’s a short list of celebrities who leaned into relief efforts and social justice issues, with a major splash of activism. We already know that “Rihanna’s reign just won’t let up.” Ever since establishing the Clara Lionel Foundation (CLF) in 2012, named after her late grandmother who died from cancer, Rihanna has used her power, access, and status to provide and support many causes globally.
This year, CLF reportedly donated around $5 million to coronavirus efforts across the United States, the Caribbean, and Africa. These efforts supported organizations on the ground, local food banks, purchasing supplies for hospitals, and more.
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Rihanna also doubled her efforts with Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey, partnering with him on two occasions. The first one focused on domestic violence victims in Los Angeles, with CLF contributing over $2 million to a grant that Jack Dorsey matched, bringing their combined efforts to over $4 million. In addition to assisting Los Angeles, Jay Z, Rihanna, and Jack partnered to give a collective $6 million to the most vulnerable cities at the time including New York and New Orleans.
Beyonce’s reign is one for the books. It’s not a secret that black people and people of color were disproportionately dying from Covid-19 in addition to having a lack of access to healthcare and other resources. For the past several years, Beyonce has been very intentional about the partnerships she walked into. If you recall, she walked away from her Topshop x Ivy Park deal and trucked it on to Adidas. Her recent partnership with Peloton, the exercise equipment and media company, not only includes workouts with her music, but it also sees Peloton gifting students at 10 HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) with two-year memberships. Beyonce used her platform and voice to elevate the black community. Like wife, like husband. Jay Z and Beyonce typically move in silence when it comes to their philanthropic efforts. One of Jay Z’s deeds that couldn’t go unnoticed was Roc Nation providing their private jet to fly Ahmaud Arbery’s legal team to Georgia for a court hearing. Arbery was a young black man killed by a white father/son duo at the end of February 2020 while jogging in his neighborhood. It was caught on tape and although it took months for this family to get justice, enough noise was made to get these men charged including the person recording the incident.
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celebrity news
Jay Z and Meek Mill’s REFORM Alliance helped pass the probation bill in California that will shorten the probation sentences for misdemeanors and felonies among other things. This seemed very personal to Meek because Jay Z was instrumental in helping Meek beat his 12 year legal case. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey came into the mix and reportedly donated $10 million to REFORM Alliance. Jay Z and Meek sent approximately 10 million masks and other personal protective equipment to U.S. jails and prisons. Known for his role in HBO’s Insecure, Kendrick Sampson has no problem intersecting his acting with his activism work. This summer while protesting the deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, he was among the protestors hit by cops with batons and rubber bullets. Sampson co-founded non-partisan grassroots organization BLD PWR with the mission to assist creatives and other actors to use their voice for social change. Last summer right around the time protests were taking place for George Floyd’s death, Trey Songz released a song called “2020 Riots: How Many Times.” Songz also sponsored a Black Lives Matter event series in his hometown of Petersburg, Virginia, as well as in the neighboring city of Richmond. Although they probably wouldn’t consider themselves celebrities, Tamika Mallory and Brittany Packnett Cunningham have been on the frontlines alongside other brave individuals fighting against various injustices that continue to plague the Black community. Mallory’s viral speech in Minneapolis really set the tone after protests erupted from the senseless killing of George Floyd by a cop. Cunningham served as one of the leaders of the Ferguson protest when Michael Brown was shot dead in the street by a cop. Their work alongside other passionate activists like DeRay McKesson, Johnetta Elzie, and Samuel Sinyangwe continues. Although this list barely scratches the surface of brave individuals and organizations tackling social justice issues, we’re grateful for those shaking things up. It’s time to see justice served and equality applied for real this time. 2021, show us something good.
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