Support is Sexy

Carmen Jones learned very early about how painful stereotypes are. She and her family experienced racism as they moved into certain neighborhoods thanks to her father's corporate job with IBM, with children willing to play with her at school; but unwilling to have her visit their home. Her mom always encouraged she and her siblings to take the high road. When, at age 20, a terrible car accident ca...

Carrie Sheffield is a "musician brat" who grew up between here and there and went to 17 different public schools while traveling with her family, who were all musicians. So she knows how to adapt in ever-changing environments -- including changes that she initiated herself contrary to popular opinion, such as leaving the Mormon church after attending a Mormon college, deciding to become a politica...

As we prepare to say good-bye to 2016 and head into the new year, I have two words for you: THANK YOU! You are the epitome of sexy support, and I so appreciate you! In this episode I take a moment to share my gratitude with you, and to encourage you to create something sexy in 2017! Again, thank you. Happy New Year!   For more episodes of Support is Sexy, visit supportissexypodcast.com.   [Music:...

While most people are focused on resolutions, we're going to do our own bit of reinvention over here for 2017. And I want YOU to be a part of it. Let's have some fun -- help me choose between two options for a new theme song for the Support is Sexy podcast, which we'll debut with our first episode in January. Listen to snippets of both songs on this episode, then head over to Twitter at @supportis...

Beverly Stewart has wanted to be a teacher since she was five years old, and she thought she'd be one forever once she started her career in education. But after six years in the classroom, she knew she needed a change -- she wanted a way to impact each student individually. So Beverly made the brave decision to leave her full-time teaching career in 1985, and started tutoring children one-on-one....

Dr. Karmetria Burton has always been gregarious and loquacious, so much so that her family would offer to pay her to be quiet for five minutes. That didn't work -- because Karmetria loves to connect, and she always had plenty of questions. Karmetria grew up around a family of entrepreneurs and worked in her dad's business for about two years right after college (for room and board of course). Afte...

Venettes Cultural Workshop founder, Mary Baird, was a great influence on her goddaughter, Dawn Shedrick, as Dawn grew up attending classes at the workshop and watched as her godmother created a space for many Black children in their Long Island, New York, neighborhood to know that they matter -- children who may otherwise have fallen through the proverbial cracks. Dawn later carried this same pass...

If things didn't manifest how you wanted or envisioned for 2016, do not be discouraged: You gotta keep going! A little holiday inspiration... Subscribe to Support is Sexy podcast on iTunes or on Stitcher Radio ! Thank you for listening! And hey, if you love it, please click here to leave us a Rating & Review on iTunes !   Show notes, links, contacts and resources for this episode may be found at s...

If you were to ask a five-year-old Amber Aziza what she wanted to be when she grew up, she would have told you two words: In charge. For Amber, this didn't just mean having money; it was about having control of her own destiny. As a child of foster care, who survived a tumultuous environment before being adopted, Amber's forever family cultivated this part of her – with a long list of after-school...

When having a conversation with Charreah K. Jackson -- ESSENCE magazine Lifestyle & Relationships Editor and Creator of BossBride -- you will be struck by  her Southern charm as as much as you will be by her worldly self awareness. The Decatur, Georgia, native -- who considers herself "a little bit bossy" and "with a big personality" -- grew up surrounded by models of strong black women, with a gr...

Even as a little girl, Lisa Dadd always planned to be a doctor, but she always had an entrepreneurial itch. In university, she realized she was much more interested in knowing about the science of people rather than just science, so she changed her major. But when she didn't get into medical school, the Niagara Falls native felt somewhat lost. She decided to continue on to get her graduate degree...

When Kelly Lynn Adams was a young girl growing up in New Jersey she was considered shy and was diagnosed with a speech impediment. But doing things that pushed her out of her comfort zone helped her get over that shyness and over other people's perceptions of her. Today, Kelly is a motivational speaker and life coach who considers herself a "loud, obnoxious Jersey girl." In other words, she is ful...

Who is the woman I have to become to become the woman I want to be? Yes, this is actually a question I have ask and continue to ask myself. It is my version of a check in and grounds men when I feel I am beginning to sway from the way of being that truly reflects who I am and who I want to become.  Sound to woo woo for you? How about this: If you want to become the woman of your own dreams you hav...

Ever since I heard author and podcaster Tim Ferriss say "What would this look like if it were easy?" when he was a guest on another show and speaking about his approach to launching his own podcast, I immediately incorporated that mindset into my toolbox. Whenever approaching a new project or adventure: What would it look like if this were easy. But you know what? Sometimes I forget. Like this wee...

Kelli M. Coleman grew up in Detroit with her parents as a child surrounded by other successful African-American adults who, by all appearances, had it all. They were successful, had great careers and businesses and enjoyed loving, enduring personal relationships. This model of success became an important part of Kelli's evolution as she, at age 10, entered into the family business (her father, Don...

Comparison is death. And so is the numbers game. As we wrap of the year and look at where we were in our business, how we performed, where we can improve, it may be easy to get caught up in the numbers game -- meaning this self-destructive behavior of comparing our numbers to someone else's numbers within our industry or otherwise and allowing it to make us feel less than. Don't do it! No good can...

The new year is upon us and you've probably already seen articles, posts and news items about resolutions, the "new you" and other forms of pressure that urge you to blow off the rest of 2016 and start thinking ahead. Well, don't. You still have time left! And pushing those to-dos that you've left undone all year into next year is not the way to go when you realize you still have space and opportu...

You know what you're going to see a lot of in the post for this episode? SPACE.   As entrepreneurs, we can get so caught up in the hustle, in filling every single empty space with a to-do. I get it -- you're busy, and you've got stuff to do!   But I challenge you this weekend to put some space on it. With intention. Take a break -- whatever that looks like. Listen to this episode, a quickie, for a...

In a recent interview for the Support is Sexy podcast (episode 109) with Jen Groover, a very successful serial entrepreneur and a mentor in my head, we spoke about this idea of not being limited by the limited beliefs of others who buy into this idea that you have to stay in one lane or have one job or be one thing when it comes to your business. Why can't you be, do, have more than one thing when...

Mistakes. If you're an entrepreneur, whether you admit it or not, you've seen plenty of them. Whether those mistakes were your "fault" or not, doesn't matter -- it's your responsibility . What matters most is that you know that at some point or another, mistakes happen, and you will encounter them at some point of your journey. And that you're clear that, no matter what, you get a second chance.  ...

I made a mistake. In fact I made several! And in this episode I talk about how the mistakes we make -- or the imperfections we perceive we have -- don't make our projects or what we're putting out in to the world "wrong," they make them authentic! .   What are you holding onto in hopes of it being perfect? What do you need to learn to let go of so you can get feedback that will help move you forwa...

2017 is almost here -- let's not wait until the New Year to resolve to drop old baggage, to have the difficult conversations we may need to in order to move forward in our businesses or our lives. It's time to travel light!   On this episode I share a recent personal experience where I had to have a difficult conversation and give you advice, based on my experience, about how you may do so with so...

I hate to use the word hate, but I hate push-ups. Love working out, can't stand push-ups. They are, indeed, my least favorite exercise, and I usually avoid doing them in any way possible. 10-mile runs? Yes! Push-ups? No thanks! Now that I've relocated from Brooklyn, New York, to Atlanta though, access to long runs has changed, and I've had to rework my routine a bit. In doing so, I added push-ups,...

Back in 1995, before entrepreneurship was cool, Pennsylvania native Jen Groover didn't know exactly what it was called, but she just knew that the thought of making someone else successful based on her hard work and efforts was a warped concept. And it was a box she refused to fit in. Nicknamed "Cyclone" when she was younger, Jen became committed to creating something of her own, and then somethin...

The intrigue of entrepreneurship was always within Brandice Daniel when she was an adventurous child growing up in Memphis, and it was always around her thanks to her entrepreneurial parents. But when it was time to go to college, Brandice "played it safe" by selecting the major that her parents had in mind for her: pre-med. That is until she got real with herself and decided to take the first of...