Bold, Visible & Unstoppable: The Power of Community for Women of Color Entrepreneurs

Deneen L. Garrett:00:02 00:36
Hello everybody and welcome back to women of color and intimate conversation. We are doing it again. We have Chris's crew part three, and we have two new ambitious women who are going to share their journey. So our focus is around the power of community and visibility in entrepreneurship. So let's go ahead and get started, Sonia and Eternity. Sonia, tell us a little bit about yourself and your business. Hello, everyone.

Sonya Z. Phillips:00:36 01:22 My name is Sonya Z. Phillips. And today, I'm going to represent my business, DreamShake Body Contouring. And it is a weight loss and wellness spa. We're located in Norfolk, Virginia. So we specialize in body contouring, detox services, and nutritional services. In addition to that, I am a cut and sew fashion designer. I've been in fashion for over 30 years. My business just hit the 24-year mark in this month in March, International Women's Month. And just super excited to be expanding that brand to Ghana. I'll be hosting a fashion show in Ghana in two weeks. Oh, awesome! Woo!

Deneen L. Garrett:01:29 01:37 I love that. Okay. Hopefully you tell us a little bit more about that throughout the conversation. I just want to do the brief introductions. I know we have 40 minutes, but you know the assignment.

Sonya Z. Phillips:01:37 01:55 Yeah. body contouring, fashion, and I'm also a content creator. So I help businesses with media, with just different things. You know, I'm a everything kind of person. Yeah. Love it.

Deneen L. Garrett:01:55 02:08 So like I told Paul, I was on a panel on Saturday and I introduced myself. I said, well, I'm like Issa Rae. I'm a multi hyphenate. But today we're going to talk about dream life coaching. That's what I did. Yeah. Yeah. I'm Lady Trinity, tap in.

Eternity Sledge:02:09 03:06 I feel like that was just a great transition to me. these amazing energy in the room. Let's introduce myself. I am Eternity Sledge, a catalyst for transformation, embodying creativity, resilience, and purpose. I am rooted in gratitude, guided by logistics, and driven by audacity and delusion, also known as the GLAAD framework. I operate in my purpose as the founder and CEO of the Multifaceted Collective, which is an ecosystem for multifaceted women entrepreneurs connecting entrepreneurship, empowerment, and community all in one. And I also serve as the founder and executive director of Meerkat Impact, which is a nonprofit organization for at-risk youth, teaching them about life skills development, mental health advocacy, and pathway discovery. I'm so happy to be here, y'all. Thanks for inviting me.

Deneen L. Garrett:03:06 03:11 Yeah, so happy you're both of you. And of course we have to hear from Chris. So Chris, let us hear from you.

Kris Gordon:03:12 04:08 Yes, thank you thank you ladies for being here director D for bringing this thing full circle and now celebrating our last of this session event collab event I'm excited about that. My name is Chris Gordon, I'm founder and CMO, CGO, CIO. of House of Privilege. We're a full service PR and marketing agency for service-based businesses. We help with the events, with the products, with the just overall branding that helps visibility and awareness come together. I love that we specifically focus on fashion, food, and fitness businesses. However, because we're looking to help cure the solopreneurship of most businesses, That means our marketing tech can definitely serve people outside of those industries. So I really appreciate each of the ambitious women for being here and love this exciting conversation. Let's get it.

Deneen L. Garrett:04:09 04:20 I know. Let's go. It is the energy. Y'all brought the energy today. And you brought me up because I was like a little sluggish. It's raining outside. I'm in the deep. And spring hasn't caught up here yet.

Kris Gordon:04:20 04:32 It's not fighting back. It's not fighting back. I don't understand directly what is going on. But you know what you said and it's still giving a little bit of glow over there. The sun is trying to give you a little something too. So yeah.

Deneen L. Garrett:04:32 05:24 I see girl. Where are you at? Where are you located? Detroit. Detroit. Okay. Yeah, so Mother Nature, you know, she does what she does, you know, as always, so it is what it is, and we're just going to keep it moving. We're going to keep it moving in this conversation because community is everything in entrepreneurship, especially for Black women. So what role has community played in your journey? And we're going to go backwards in eternity. Talk to us about community. And before you even answer, this whole call is about community, right? Chris reached out to her community. She said, hey, we have this opportunity. Who wants to show up? And you two are the ones that showed up for part three. So greatly appreciate you. So already, we know about community. But how has it played a role in your entrepreneurship journey?

Eternity Sledge:05:24 06:22 Community has been huge for me. I met one lady, her name is Erica Cassie, and I ran from her. And when I came back, all I know is everybody started coming. I mean, people amazing like Chris, I met someone named Michelle Thames, and now I'm even part of something called Mom Pride, which is a collective of women moving together. We're writing an anthology. We have a summit coming up in May. We're moving as a crew. We support each other. When somebody posts on LinkedIn, we comment, we repost, we share. And that's something I took in and I started doing that with all of my relationships. make sure I comment on Chris. I tag her on anything that has to do with marketing. When she sends me an email, she like, I need you here. I'm there. And so I think community is really important because that's how we move. That's how we get to success. And that's why I built the multifaceted collective. I didn't feel like I had community when I first started, but now I feel so supported and so loved. And it just makes being an entrepreneur so much more fun.

Deneen L. Garrett:06:23 06:58 Absolutely. And you know, when you have people behind you, that have your back. And I love that whole thing that you're supporting each other's social. That's the community that I really want to tap in. So let's make sure we connect on LinkedIn. Sonya and I already connected. She connected from the very beginning. So we're already plugged in there. But yeah, we have to. If we're not having each other's back, who is? You know what I'm saying? And it's too many of us out here doing things. not to support one another. So Sonia, what role has community played in yours? I'm assuming it has something to do with you going to Ghana in a couple of weeks. I don't know.

Sonya Z. Phillips:07:02 09:34 Um, starting with Ghana, um, it's my cousin and it's a, such a dope story because he has been doing business and he built a relationship with his, um, business associate there in Ghana, helping him find deals, which happens to be from a line of chief makers. And so because of his, um, Kind of like been adopted by his his friends family sort of he became a part of their community every time he would go to do business and spend that bread, you know, so many talk BS walk, you know, but then investment into the community there gave him the opportunity to become a chief in the village and so in August of 2023 he went through the instillment process and became a not just a part of the village, but became a leader in the village. And so he brought me in as his PR person. So I am his assistant on the US side. So he took me for the first time last year. And the message there is, you're welcome. You're welcome. You're welcome. Not how we say, when somebody says thank you, you say, you're welcome. It was, you're welcome. Welcome home. You're welcome here. You're a part of this community now. And so they were just so impressed with my fashion show last year, they've added it on to be an annual part of this festival they have every Easter. So every, usually Friday or Saturday before Easter, I'll be having a fashion show. So as time goes on, it might not be me all of the time, but this is the second annual. one. But again, um, I'm a business within that commun arms. But prior to that only child. And so, you k of went through that thin to, um, make new friends e you know, I didn't have t brothers or cousins, all those things all the time. And so I learned how to just, you know, ask for the business, so to speak. So anytime I go somewhere, I'm always selling, even if it's selling a friendship, you know, it's still always selling. You know, and just meeting new people like Chris and I met in the nonprofit community. And, you know, we took that outside of that and, you know, we built some things together outside there. But it's just about being a friend, you know, being willing to be an active part of the community. So I feel like, you know, I believe in real relationships, like being real, being authentic. You can get all of this real me over here.

Eternity Sledge:09:34 09:36 You know, I know how to clean it up and make it nice.

Sonya Z. Phillips:09:37 10:36 You know, when I got to go into the professional setting, but, you know, I'm gonna get you gonna get all this realness, you know, the authenticity and the vulnerability and, um, not feeling like you have to do it all by yourself. You don't have to do life by yourself, not even just business. But, you know, business is spiritual and business is a relationship. So people do business with people they know, like and trust, you know what I'm saying? So it goes beyond buy my thing. It goes beyond that. So for me, community is something that takes work like a relationship. Like you got to work on your marriage. You got to work on your friendship. Me and my best friend, we're in business together, but sometimes we don't And sometimes we try not to go to bed mad. I call her my work wife. I'm straight. I like the hot dog, not the bun. But in this relationship, she the husband. I'm like the baby daddy. I buy pamphlets. I make sure she eat.

Kris Gordon:10:38 10:45 All right, take a breath. Take a breath. We got you. I can tell Sexy Unicorn is coming on out. Breathe, breathe.

Deneen L. Garrett:10:46 10:55 It's always a party over here, right? I was like, when I saw you on camera, I'm like, OK, blue. All right. Right? Yeah, you know.

Sonya Z. Phillips:10:55 11:04 And I'm wearing this hat. I got to shout out my boy, Kendall Three Scoops. This is his brand. And this matches so nicely with my work shirt. So I wore this today, you guys.

Deneen L. Garrett:11:04 11:48 So for those of you who are listening, you're missing out on all this energy, seeing this energy and seeing how Sonya has showed up today. Because she brought it for us. We're not going to tell you anymore, you just need to watch on YouTube. Go ahead and you can keep it rolling on your podcast platform, but go ahead and flip over to YouTube so you can see what's going on, what we got going on here. So Chris, I want you to tap in a little bit on this community too, because again, you created this space. And because of you, we're here together. And this is, for me, my third group. And it's fun, right? Because it is an energy balancing off of everybody kind of, you know, different energy. So just tapping real quick on community.

Kris Gordon:11:49 13:12 Absolutely. Absolutely. Community, like you said, like we've shown, you know, and I think leading by example is the best thing. It's the heart and soul of how we build together, how we connect better, how we grow together. And it's definitely the heart and soul of my agency as well as my tech, you know, company. Even in the branding, the positioning alone, it's a factory. That means like one person does something and then the next person picks it up. Like an assembly line, that even is a community, you know, formula and framework. I think if I were to summarize it in a few words, I would say PR, events, and engagement. And for PR, I mean, that's just showing up and standing 10 toes down on what you're proud and passionate of. For events, that's virtual and in-person. And we know that that in-person experience just puts the cherry on top for that relationship building experience. But when you can't get to, when we're in Seattle and Detroit and Virginia, you know, then we can show up virtually. That is still an event, that is still an experience. And then last but not least, engagement, which is what prompted us here, right? Just commenting on your threads posts, loving your show, loving what you're doing, loving the audience that you have on your YouTube channel, and that you're multifaceted yourself, that you love art, just that engagement to respond and take it to the next level. This is the core of how great things begin, and we've seen it right here, right now.

Deneen L. Garrett:13:12 14:07 Absolutely. And thank you for mentioning threads, right? Because that is how we were connected. So y'all who are listening and watching social media, if you use it wisely, it opens up so much. Like for me with threads, not only am I building more connections and it's not just people just commenting and keeping it moving. There are some that are like, you know, that person is going to be there and in support what you're doing and then taking it to this space. So whereas now it's gone into group You know podcast episodes and and I have several I have another group one that's coming from a whole different. person right because she saw what I was doing with Chris and she wanted in on that right so that's how this thing grows and so just tap into that. So I do want to kind of go back just real and talk about Ghana for a moment. So one, I need you Sonya to continue building deep with the folks there because I may need to move to Ghana.

Sonya Z. Phillips:14:07 17:38 Let me just let y'all know that Right now, we already have a tourism business that has already gone through the process that has the Ghana business license. Because let me just give you a little bit of insight of the money piece, right? So my cousin, one of his endeavors is hemp farming. So hemp just became legalized there in Ghana about a year or two ago. And so he's got the land, he's got the contracts, he was in line. you know, way before they was doing hemp here in th going to start farming in be doing industrial hemp and in the textile. So th I come in, I will be the f the clothing line and ec not only sell our hemp clothing line, but help artisans that are there to get their arts and crafts out to the world through e-commerce and also fabrics. And for me, I'm excited about the fabrication because one of our greats, Joanne's, is shutting down. Not that I'm happy for them, but people are going to be looking for another resource to get fabrics, and we're going to be the plug on that. for for african print. Um have authentic like woven you can't really find tha a lot of business. Um he's he's building air B and B's or hotels. Um restaurant that will be o In December, when we go back again, the Airbnbs or the hotels will be open, and he has them in two different cities. So one is the town where he's the chief, which is really small, but one property is in Akosombo, which is a tourist place that people come that has this dam. This dam makes the electricity for Ghana. Togo, Benin, the Ivory Coast. So this place brings in, you know, millions of people just to come and see the town where he's building. So there's a lot of, it's cheap for y'all, okay? It's safe. And so the one thing that I would tell to my entrepreneurs is that, you know, being a busy body all the time here, The one thing I felt when I touched down and I was there for a few days was peace, y'all. I still had the internet. I still could use my phone. I still did a few things, but it was peace. It was just so nice to still be connected to the world, but not have that pressure of being overstimulated here in the U.S., like a million events, a million calls, a million things to do and not enough time. So the life, the food is better. You know, I got a little bit more natural exercise from walking around and going to things. And I just feel like being in the health and wellness and nutrition industry, I read labels now and the food is just different. I know you've seen the stories about how the packaging in Europe or Africa or Asia is way different for the same Coca-Cola or bag of chips. So I suggest come and visit. Come taste and see. Come experience it and make your own decision. But I'm going to tell you, girl, you ain't going to want to come back. And then if you single, honey. Uh-oh.

Deneen L. Garrett:17:38 18:10 Don't bring your sand to the beach. Look, y'all, I got to pause and book my flight right now. Baby. Okay. So we're gonna we're gonna get all into eternity in just a moment. I just wanted to say this quickly. So actually, I am partner collaborating with someone he is from Ghana. Okay. Art space. Right. So he lives in LA. He's from Ghana. He's a curator and he actually does a show he does Africa. art week or something like that. He'll be in Ghana probably the same time you will.

Sonya Z. Phillips:18:10 18:30 Definitely connect this girl because I love him definitely. And maybe he could set up some of his art or something because I'm not in charge of the logistics. So my cousin's stool father, which is the person that brought him in to be the chief, is also his assistant there in Ghana. So he does all the logistics. I just tell him what I want and he get it.

Deneen L. Garrett:18:31 18:47 So we'll kind of like take this offline, but I really wanted to raise this because we're talking about Ghana. We're empowering women of color. So they're listening and watching, and we're letting y'all know in real time how things get done, right? It's a lot of opportunity there.

Sonya Z. Phillips:18:47 19:30 Absolutely. Like when I tell you to like build a building, you can get your own building built for less than $10,000. You know, we over here paying rent. and barely making ends meet, you go there and build the building. And I mean, of course, the economy is a little different, but keep in mind, you can still kind of like that work from home idea. If you build something that is global, you can still be based there and sell it to the world at whatever price you sell it for. So you can be there having your coaching client that you charging, you know, $5,000 for your program. You know what I'm saying? So it's one of those places that life is good.

Deneen L. Garrett:19:30 19:46 I love it. All right. Let's switch to eternity. So eternity, tell us some more about the multifaceted collective. We want to know how, um, you know, your, the connections that you're making, the things that the women are doing, you know, how, how does this help us?

Eternity Sledge:19:48 22:31 Yes. So in a multifaceted collective, we have a membership, so Trailblazer membership, and it comes with weekly bestie hours. which is kind of like this is just going to be an hour each week where we just sit and we're going to talk, talk about the different things we're going through in our business, talk about what's going on in life and just support each other and be there for each other. Kind of like how in the corporate, they be by the water, they be by the water cooler and they be gossiping. that, but for entrepreneurs, because we got things to talk about too. We don't always need to be in silos. I want to gossip about what your client said to you last week. I want to know what's going on. And I also want to feel supported. I want to feel loved. I want to buy my business, Bestie. And then we also have a business directory. So you can have your business featured on the website. Let's let me get your logo. Let me know what your business is. Let's promote you. Let's see what we can do to get you to the next level. We have a 24-7 co-working space. Virtual. It's open at all times. You can hop on there whenever you want. And if somebody else in a different state needs to co-work at the same time, y'all are on there. Y'all do what y'all need to do. It has a silent room. It has a room if you just want to talk. And we have the main room that are available at all times. The other thing with the Multifaceted Collective that I'm so excited about is the Clarity Challenge. The Chaos to Clarity Challenge coming up next month is going to be a three-day challenge where we're going to sit down and we're going to talk about it. Let's get you out of that chaos. Let's get you out of that funk. And this is my last little Oscar promo. I am multifaceted. So I want to hit on everything. I want to make sure that we are getting taken care of holistically. So I have a quarterly reset called the GLAAD Box. Again, GLAAD is gratitude, logistics, audacity, and delusion. And so you get that GLAAD Box each quarter to remind you to rest. Take care of yourself to reset. Thank you. Yes. It includes a book, a professional or personal development book. Cause I think people sometimes only focus on business or they only focus on life and they both affect each other. If you are not doing good mentally, your business will suffer. So we bring that together. We give you that. We also give some wellness sensory items. So things for you to hear, taste, smell. We have a playlist called the GLAAD Frequency. I love it. I love it. And it's just music that's gonna make you feel good. We have candles so you can smell. It's called Oh, Smellalicious. That's the company I get my candles from right now. I don't even know what else to say about it. You can smell it without even lighting it. The candles are great. Oh, I love that. That's, that's the one collective I'd love for y'all to come join.

Deneen L. Garrett:22:32 22:34 So this is a physical space.

Eternity Sledge:22:36 22:38 No, it's an online space. Okay.

Deneen L. Garrett:22:39 22:45 Well, the way you described it, I mean, I was pitching, you know, envisioning being there physically. So I love that.

Kris Gordon:22:45 22:54 Well, it looks like you're planning to see that we might need some infrastructure. In Ghana. Okay, quick question.

Eternity Sledge:22:54 22:59 I know about me and my post-it notes. I'm gonna write it and it's gonna come true.

Deneen L. Garrett:23:00 23:18 Okay, let's get into visibility, right? So this is something that, you know, Chris wanted to make sure that we talked about. And so actually I'm gonna kick it off with Chris. So Chris, visibility is a game changer, but can be and feel overwhelming. So how did you first step into visibility with confidence?

Kris Gordon:23:19 25:02 Mm, I love that question. Let me let it sit with my spirit for a second. All right, all right, yes. So I'm going to first start with visibility is definitely such a core, but it also is very much a crutch. And that's where that overwhelmingness comes in. So I'm going to genuinely say when I stepped onto the scene in marketing, the confidence was from actually tying into our first session with our group. It was just being self-aware that I was very unique and one of one in the room. I think knowing what you are, who you are, what you offer, and who you're talking to, that is what adds to the confidence. People think sometimes that confidence is fueled by others, or confidence is fueled by experiences, or even wins, and that's actually quite the opposite. Confidence is fueled by not only self-awareness and you just being, you know, proud and passionate about what you're doing, but it also is fueled from L's, you know, and you take that L to be whatever you want. It could be a lose, it could be a loss, or it could be a lesson. And, you know, the latter is the most fueling of the process or of the two. But I think, you know, what you show up confidently doing is what makes you confident in it. Just the ability to speak to people from any level, you know, from a very human space. I'm not here to sell you anything. I'm here more to share, but most importantly, I'm here to be more interested than interesting. And I think that's what really champions that visibility and confidence, you know, focus and guideline and framework to just help you get in more rooms, just show up. And that really starts the process.

Deneen L. Garrett:25:03 25:48 Right. And like you said, it starts with you, right? Getting to know who you are, getting to know what it is that you are about, what you stand for. And so like in my coaching, in my framework, so it's my three plus three, my three plus D. So dream, decide, design, and then drive towards it. And so it's getting clear about, well, what do you want that life to look like? What do you want that business to look like? What do you want that thing, that experience? What do you want that to look like? What do you want that to be? Once you have that, then you can back into it. So absolutely. So eternity, multifaceted eternity. How do you encourage women to embrace boldness and self-promotion as part of their success across all your facets?

Eternity Sledge:25:49 27:02 So that goes right into my GLAD framework. We have the gratitude of understanding where you are and appreciating and celebrating that. I feel like a lot of times we skip that and we're so focused on the future, we forget where we are now. So that's the first thing. I even start my meetings with that. What are three things that you're grateful for today? Even if it's the worst day of your life, what are you grateful for? Let's celebrate that. And then logistics, that's making that plan. But the two that help are audacity and delusion. As Black women, we have to be audacious. And I think we see other people do it, and we don't do it. And we belong. We are the blueprint. We deserve to be there. And then that delusion is exactly what you just touched on, is creating a reality that we don't see, creating a reality that isn't there yet, and then making it happen. Seeing it, making it happen, and just going for it and being audacious. That's how I find my community. That's how I be visible. It's not about creating content for like making it very intentional of what I want to show people. But more so, this is what I'm doing. Let me show you what I'm doing. Come look in and see what's going on over here and how I can benefit you and you can benefit me and we can be neutral.

Deneen L. Garrett:27:02 27:49 And that's pretty much what I did. So in January of 2022, I had chose the word live for my focus word. And then I had saw somebody had posted or tweeted Um, at the time I was on Twitter and they had tweeted about, you know, going beyond a dream car, a dream house and actually a dream, you know, looking at a dream lifestyle. And so I said, okay, well, my focus for this year is live a dream lifestyle. So I started living it right and sharing what it looked like. before I ever said, OK, now I have this business. So absolutely, I'm in full agreement with what you just shared. So Sonia, you talked about the fashion show. This is going to be the second year, and it's going to be an annual thing. So how did you captivate the audience for them to invite you back?

Sonya Z. Phillips:27:52 29:17 Let's see. Oops, sorry, my phone. So for me, I would say, again, just showing up and being my authentic self. If you visit my Instagram, Stretch Couture, you'll see one of my pinned posts displaying a wrap dress. It's a gold sequin piece. And I call it my versatile style wrap, which the pattern is available on Etsy. if anyone is a sewer, but I just stepped in there and I just came with a bunch of energy. I showed my pieces and then I think also we gave out money, girl. People like money. We do. I do, I like money. So yeah, we gave three aspiring designers an opportunity. Well, it was six people that competed, but we chose three. And we gave out $1,000, $600, and $400, but in the Ghanaian city. So it wasn't as much. I don't remember what the exchange rate is, but literally we gave out $2,000. And so I think the fact that we're going there and bringing the US to this small town that had never had anything like that before. And then, yeah, just, yeah, that's what I brought. And the sexy unicorn, I didn't really talk a lot about that, but, you know, I brought my sexy unicorn to Ghana too.

Deneen L. Garrett:29:18 29:39 All right. I love it. I love it. All right. So again, we're all about empowering women of color. So let's kind of get into some experiences that you had and some things that you had to overcome. So Sonia, what has been your biggest challenge in building community and visibility, and how did you overcome it?

Sonya Z. Phillips:29:39 30:46 I think it's hard. Once you're a professional woman of a certain caliber, I think it's hard to connect with other women. And so I think about, now I'll speak to the sexy unicorn. I feel like she was born during the pandemic, and it gave me opportunity to have intimate, events for professional women, and women felt safe maybe in a party that only had 10 people to talk about something that might be a little taboo, like Divine Feminine Energy, or maybe having a pink night with some exotic entertainment. These women aren't going to your nightclub. These women aren't going, you know, to Adam and Eve, you know, per se. Some of them are, but most of them are not. And so creating a space where the women I wanted to connect with could feel safe. And I think also coming with an open hand, bringing in resources. By me kind of being the plug, a lot of time, like I think Chris said earlier, it's not about selling something, it's about just being a resource for people and being a helpmate to others.

Deneen L. Garrett:30:47 30:55 Okay, thank you for that. So, Eternity, again, multifaceted, how do you balance being visible while staying true to your values and missions?

Eternity Sledge:30:57 31:47 I am rooted in them. Like, even in my intro, you can kind of hear what I'm about. My three Fs, Chris has her three Fs, I have my three Fs. Mine are family, freedom, and faith. Everything I do is around making sure my family will be well taken care of, making sure I can show up for them. which is why I became an entrepreneur. When my grandmother was sick, I was able to go there and take care of her when nobody else was able to get off of work. Freedom, financial freedom and time freedom. I like being able to hop on this podcast or hop on something else whenever I want to and choosing where I wanna be and when I wanna be there. And then faith, everything I do is rooted in God, trying to figure out how to get out of chaos. It took me and my relationship with God to navigate through those difficult challenges. And so everything I do, is rooted in those three values, family, freedom, and faith.

Deneen L. Garrett:31:48 32:08 I love that. And that freedom is part of my living a dream life. And like you said, being able to do anything whenever, right? Whenever you feel like it for me, travel is number one. So I can go wherever I want whenever I want, right? And it's just a choice and it's how I set up my life. So Chris, what advice would you give to someone struggling to put themselves out there?

Kris Gordon:32:10 33:31 Oh, good. Um, I always say I don't really give advice, because you're going to have to sit with whatever choice you make and I don't want to be responsible, but I do share insight and, you know, if it, if it's past the awareness and the confidence building the effort to Connect with someone who's going to push you out of your comfort zone would be the next best thing right I say all the time, you know when we want to be better. We can't be better with someone else who isn't doing better in that thing that we're wanting to grow like it generally doesn't make sense and I see that. Most often with like your nine to fivers who also have site hustlers, you know, part pair yourself with someone who's already running a business or an actual for newer so that you're more encouraged to go into that third tank of energy or air that you need in order to still do that thing for your business or yourself so. you know, visibility isn't enough necessarily because that is going to rely more on the motivation side. And what will create the discipline cadence is having that support, having that community to help and encourage you to that process as well. So if you don't have someone recommending or suggesting or tagging or what have you to get you more comfortable, push you out of that comfort zone to get that visibility, that's probably where you should start. Find you somebody.

Deneen L. Garrett:33:32 33:41 Absolutely. And we all know somebody, right? Because I was probably, I'm that one, right? So if you call me, you know, you're going to get the real, real. So if you don't want the real, real, then guess what? Don't call me.

Eternity Sledge:33:42 33:45 Get somebody else to do it, is what you're saying.

Deneen L. Garrett:33:45 34:01 I'm not going to, you know, plagiarize you. I'm going to tell you, here, look, this is what it is. All right. So last question, going to ask each of you, and I'll just start with Sonia. So Sonia, what's one message you love to leave with our audience about the power of community and visibility?

Sonya Z. Phillips:34:03 34:17 Don't be afraid to ask for help. And don't be afraid to share your story. You didn't go through that just for yourself. Whatever you're going through or that you went through, you went through that to help somebody else. Don't keep it to yourself.

Deneen L. Garrett:34:17 34:28 I love that. I love that. And yes, ask for help. We don't do that enough. Like, lean on your community. Lean on that one person that you know is going to tell you the real, real. All right, Eternity, same question.

Eternity Sledge:34:30 34:45 Kind of piggyback off that, remember that a village is a two-way street. Yes, you can give help and you can show up, but you also need to be willing to ask for it when you need it and to stay grateful for what you got so you can be ready for that next level when God brings it to you.

Deneen L. Garrett:34:46 35:08 Yes, yes, yes, and that's something that I meant so one of the questions on the panel was about networking and so me personally i'm not so much about the networking i'm about relationship building. And I even said that you know what with me, I may end up giving more than I actually asked if I even asked for something back in return so you're absolutely right, it is a two way street and then Chris.

Kris Gordon:35:09 36:15 Bring this one home. Absolutely. I would say to start or begin with the end in mind. Have intention. Don't just show up and be visible. Don't just show up and want community. Be intentional. And if you're beginning with the end in mind, that looks like knowing why you're in the room. And I also say you're already standing on a mountain of value. I know every last one of us in this room right now, we have a number of things in the draft, a number of things that we created and it's just collecting dust right now because we overthought it or got sidetracked. Whatever the case may be, start with what you have, pull something out of them drafts, repurpose something that you already have used, that you saw had some good traction, but you just skittled, as my clients would say for me, And then moved on to something else. You are already standing on a mountain of value, your personal or professional experience, as Eternity said. And so just beginning with that is going to help just start the process. The flow will happen after that.

Deneen L. Garrett:36:16 36:28 Absolutely. And you know I'm all about beginning with the end in mind. But I just want to know, girl, have you hacked into my email? Because you all up in my business. I have like three things that I've been working on that I need to go ahead and launch.

Kris Gordon:36:29 36:42 Obviously, E does too, Sonya does too. I saw her reaction and I dang sure do. So, that was a sign to all of us. I think one thing is really good that we say things, it's not really to guide anyone else. It's so we can hear it ourselves.

Deneen L. Garrett:36:42 37:24 Everybody else is just ear hustling, right? Everybody else is just ear hustling or, you know, when they're watching on YouTube, they're just like, you know, all up in our business because it's for us. I love this. Thank you so much, Chris and crew, the part three. The energy has been amazing. I love this conversation. And thank you all. So in the show notes, you'll find out how you can connect with each of these women who are making things happen. They are ambitious. And I hope that that ambition has rubbed off on all of you. So thank you again for lending your voice to women of color and intimate conversation. Enjoy the rest of your day.

Kris Gordon:37:25 37:27 Thank you. Bye. Bye, everybody.