I Am Black Success®

Today's featured guest is another amazing DMV blazer, born and raised. I was blessed to have Kanika Tolver on the show. Kanika Tolver is a former government employee turned rebel entrepreneur and Certified Professional Coach. We had a great conversation and I'm excited to hear your thoughts on it, so hit me up as you're listening. You can tweet us up @tbpod and let me know what you&...

Kenneth L. Johnson is a distinguished Diversity Recruiter and Executive Search professional with 20 years of experience delivering talent-acquisition solutions. In 2017. Kenneth was named to the prestigious Forbes Coaches Council. In 2016, Mr. Johnson was recognized by Black Enterprise Magazine as a BE Modern Man (only 100 people received this honor globally). His dedication to innovative talent-a...

Nathan Cook wants to help you see, believe and reach your human potential by transforming how you think. Using powerful, electrifying, and passionate speech and methodology, Nathan’s approach will instantly affect how you see yourself and the world around you. As president of Inspiring Inspirations and TheSuccessBoard.com , Nathan's mission is to empower people to unleash the power within the...

Karen Millsap, also known as, The Grief Consultant, began her career in human resources and talent acquisition where she lead countless training, new process, and change initiatives. At a young age, she suddenly became a widow when her husband tragically died which completely changed the trajectory of her life. After experiencing a domino effect of other losses, she became acutely aware of the ove...

If you trust the process, you can accomplish anything.  That’s the takeaway from this episode and our featured guest Henry Keculah. Henry  is the founder and CEO of 4.0 Growth Productivity Accountability (4.0 GPA).  Henry is a first-generation American, who's parents immigrated to the U.S from Liberia.  Henry mom was unfamiliar with the college readiness process which prevented Henry from tak...

Business growth strategist Quiana Murray has helped hundreds of entrepreneurs learn how to acquire sponsorship for their businesses, events, products and services. Having left her comfy corporate job to launch her first business (only to watch it all fall flat), she knows the importance of being able to create a business that you not only love, but one that allows you to thrive! Now Quiana uses he...

Allow me to introduce Major Kenneth Reyes. Ken is our very first Latino man and active duty military featured guest on Trailblazers. FM. Ken has served our country for more than 20 years. He’s deployed to support the NATO led Stabilization Force in Bosnia and has also volunteered to fight in Afghanistan as a Paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division. Ken has taught as an Assistant Professor of Mil...

There is a ton of opportunity that can come out of our prison cells; but only if we help create a culture of second chances. Marcus Bullock is an entrepreneur, justice reform advocate, and public speaker. Following his 2004 release from prison, he launched a painting business and is now CEO of construction firm Perspectives Premier Contractors, which employs other returning citizens. Bullock is al...

Whether on the stage, in the classroom, in the community, or as a father, Marcus Johnson leaves a mark wherever he lands. Musician, Entrepreneur, Professor, Author, Motivational Speaker, he is the consummate dreamer-doer. He believes that investing in the community and in one’s self is the best way to solve some of life’s most pressing questions: Why are we here? What is our purpose? In answering...

Maxine Reyes is a super charged woman that wears multiple hats. When she’s not speaking at schools and mentoring teens, she is leading women’s groups teaching self care and resilience, and inspiring with her platform “Women leading their lives with courage and grace”.  She can also be found hosting couples retreats with her husband of 20 years, or volunteering at her daughter’s school. Did we ment...

Yendi Phillipps is doing it all! She blazed her trail by winning two national pageant titles for the island of Jamaica, but her accolades didn't stop there. Since then she's become an ambassador, mother, social media influencer, model and is also a creative entrepreneur who has found a way to live a life of purpose, while still monetizing her creative passions. In this conversation, Yend...

What holds most people back from sharing their story? In today's conversation, Cheryl Wood and I discuss what holds people back from sharing their story. Cheryl shares what aspiring speakers need to know to get started and shares the four types of speaking engagements. Cheryl Wood is an international motivational speaker, author, and master speaker development coach for women.  She is committ...

"When building your network or social following, focus on quality not quantity" - Cameka Smith In today's conversation, Cameka and I discuss the power of networking and building relationships. She shares why she launched her business, and how she developed a business strategy to monetize her brand and grow her business. Speaker, trainer and award-winning entrepreneur - these are jus...

Every day is black history. Every day, we are writing black history. As I think about how podcasting has allowed me to have an impact on black history in the making, I wanted to share some of my vibranium with you (Black Panther reference here - if you haven't watched it yet, you better get to a theatre near you right now). I'm going to share with you, my top 7 tips that will absolutely...

We celebrate athletes, civil rights leaders and others during Black History Month, but there is often very little conversation about black legacy in business. Our guest today is Alfred A. Edmond Jr., Senior Vice President and Executive Editor-at-Large of BLACK ENTERPRISE, responsible for providing brand, marketing and content leadership as a member of the multimedia company’s senior management tea...

"If you would stop making it all about money, all the money you want will come." Known as America's Money Maven, Patrice Washington is a nationally recognized best-selling author, transformational speaker, and a leading authority on personal finance, entrepreneurship and success for women and youth. Patrice’s wisdom on money matters has been tapped as a recurring voice by national b...

"By 2053... black median families will own zero wealth if current trends continue." Dr. George C. Fraser is the Chairman and CEO of FraserNet, Inc., a company he founded some 30 years ago, to lead a global networking movement for people of African descent. He spent 20 years in leadership positions with Procter & Gamble, United Way and Ford Motor Company before starting his own busine...

Why is legacy wealth important to the black community? Dr. Pamela Jolly is the Founder and CEO of Torch Enterprises. She's helped 1000s of entrepreneurs, national non-profits, trade organizations, the Federal Government, foundations and financial institutions. She's a smart and committed woman who's developing data-driven strategies that will help lead us to wealth as a legacy in th...

An Estate Plan determines how your assets will be dealt with when you die. Do you have one? Art Steele is an estate planning and intellectual property attorney who has been practicing law for nearly 10 years. She left corporate America to launch her own law firm in 2014 and recently founded ArtSteele.co - an online resource that provides simple legal solutions.  In this conversation, Art shares wh...

"Start with the mind. We need to change how we think and feel about money!" Dr. Cozette M. White is an acclaimed bestselling author, nationally recognized finance and tax strategist, international speaker and philanthropist. In this conversation, Dr. White shares an exercise we can begin over the next 14-21 days to help us undergo a permanent financial mind shift. -- If you're posti...

Of the 525 US Stock Mutual Funds that existed 30 years ago, only 223 are still operating today & only six are run by the same manager. One of those six remaining managers is our guest today, Mr. John Rogers Jr . John W. Rogers, Jr. is Founder, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Ariel Investments , which is the largest minority lead mutual fund in the country. Hea...

Today, we celebrate an amazing milestone on the Trailblazers. FM podcast, it's our 100th episode! It's been 100 consecutive Monday mornings, going back to February 1, 2016 that I've been publishing a brand new episode at 5 a.m. In today's conversation, we reflected on these 100 amazing reasons to be inspired, motivated, encouraged, and we are reminded of the mission fuel that&a...

How do you walk boldly in your faith to be able to experience your true purpose and success in life?  Our guest today is Tiffany F. Southerland, known across social media as @TiffSouth . In today's conversation, Tiffany and I talk about the importance of us knowing our story, and how that often leads to the discovery of our strengths.     -- If you're posting to social, please tag @tbpod...

Named to Fast Company's League of Extraordinary Women, Tiffany Dufu is today the Chief Leadership Officer to Levo, which is the fastest growing millennial professional network. She's been featured in the New York Times, Essence, O, The Oprah Magazine and she's a sought after speaker on women's leadership. A good friend said Stephen, you've absolutely got to read Tiffany&ap...

Explore our panel discussion with the Campaign for Black Male Achievement's 2017 Building Beloved Communities Leadership Fellows. Our featured guests on the panel include Ashanti Branch, Ronda Alexander and Brandyn Bailey. -- If you're posting to social, please tag @tbpod and use the hashtag #missionfuel #iamblacksuccess Please help us by SHARING this podcast with others. We believe that...