LIA DIAS - Stirring Up Success

In this inspiring episode of Eating While Broke, host Coline Witt sits down with LIA DIAS—a powerhouse “mompreneur” and serial entrepreneur—for a candid conversation about turning adversity into achievement.

Over a pot of Lia's go-to budget-friendly meal, meatless spaghetti, she shares her incredible journey from teenage single mom to owning multiple thriving businesses, including Hype Hair Magazine, The Girl Cave LA beauty supply chain, and the newly acquired Free Event Space (formerly The Savoy).

Lia opens up about the challenges she’s faced—like navigating a difficult divorce and the ups and downs of entrepreneurship—and reveals how she built her empire through self-reliance, perseverance, and smart financial planning.

From balancing motherhood and business, to reviving beloved brands and breaking new ground in the beauty and event industries, Lia's story is a masterclass in resilience and reinvention. Whether you’re an aspiring entrepreneur or just hungry for inspiration, this episode will leave you empowered and ready to stir up your own success.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:13):
Hey, guys, welcome to another episode of Eating While Broke.
I'm your host, Colleen Waitt, and today we have very
special guests. Entrepreneur in the building. Yes, and I'm very
excited about saying mompreneur because if your mom out there,
you know what's already that's already a full time self
employed type job. But to add more merit to the motherhood,

(00:34):
we added owner of Hype Hair magazine. Yes, Hype Hair Magazine,
and that's been around for over thirty years.

Speaker 2 (00:41):
Thirty we're celebrating our thirty fifth year anniversary. Thirty we're
going into our thirty fifth year anniversary right now.

Speaker 1 (00:46):
And in publishing, that's like monumental because you had to
survive the facebooks, the mindspaces, the Twitter age. Print is out.
We don't advertise in print now. We only sell. We
buy digital, I mean tweets and all my world. Yeah,
it's it's an I wasn't posting for ten years. Let
me tell you something that one wave where digital came

(01:07):
in and print was out, you had to change a
whole strategy on sales absolutely, and then and distribution. And
now to add more to that, you bought the Savoy,
which is another which, by the way, if you think
owning a magazine is tough, I would imagine a restaurant is.

Speaker 2 (01:22):
Much restaurant, nightclub. Yeah, it's a whole Yeah, it's a
whole thing.

Speaker 1 (01:28):
I can only imagine that side. And then to add
even more to that, you got the Girl cave La.

Speaker 2 (01:33):
The Girl cave La is my beauty supply store chain.
We have franchises here in Los Angeles and in Texas, and.

Speaker 1 (01:39):
Oh we're in Texas. Let me tell you something. You
are a definition. You're just on your own. It could
be just entrepreneur. I'll take it, you know. I mean
sometimes I hate when people separate it only because it's like, yo,
on its own, You're good, you know, because then it's like,
are you the top of the morepreneurs? Where do you fall?

Speaker 2 (01:58):
Yeah?

Speaker 1 (01:59):
Like, no, you you will be. She's a serial entrepreneur, entrepreneur.

Speaker 2 (02:04):
I'm I'm a mother. Yes, I'm a mom, and I'm
just making it happen. Yes.

Speaker 1 (02:08):
So on the regular day we were talking about this.
You don't look this stunning.

Speaker 2 (02:12):
Time never ever I came like this to see you.

Speaker 1 (02:16):
Okay, yeah, because you look great For all y'all listeners,
they can't see her. She looks ten out of ten phenomenal.
You would never think she was a mom because you
know how else mom's look.

Speaker 2 (02:26):
You should have seen me yesterday at the same time,
totally different person.

Speaker 1 (02:30):
I love that. I love that for you because I
have this new face where I gained a lot of weight.
So if it's not stretchy or loose, I don't want
to wear it.

Speaker 2 (02:37):
But you look good.

Speaker 1 (02:38):
I'm wearing jeans for you. This is my this is
me trying to look good for you. I put on
makeup before you came. But it's an honor to meet you.
I'm very excited. I was very excited when we got
the interview with you.

Speaker 2 (02:49):
I was excited when I got the invitation. I'm happy
to be here.

Speaker 1 (02:52):
Yes, girl, Yes. And then before we get into all
the tea of a day in the life of a
real serial entrepreneur that's struggling multiple businesses at the same time,
why don't you tell me what you're gonna be cooking
for lunch today?

Speaker 2 (03:05):
So my go to my go to meal is spaghetti.
It's meatless spaghetti though, so it's quick. My daughter probably
hates this. So a single mom for a long time
and my daughter's twenty one now, and she says it
all the time, like, I can't even stand spaghetti anymore
because I feel like I ate it four times a week.
But this was easy. A bell pepper, onion, some sauce.

(03:25):
This is like less than ten.

Speaker 1 (03:26):
Dollars, yes, yes? And then now the bell pepper and onions.
Was that something because you wanted to add extra like
bite to it?

Speaker 2 (03:33):
Because I mean, I just felt like it was so
basic just to have salt, mean, just to have sauce
and pasta. So I was like, what can I do that?
And when you go to the produce aisle, it's bell
pepper and onion. That's something you can spice it up with. Yeh.
If I'm feeling really fancy, I'll add mushroom.

Speaker 1 (03:47):
Yes, yes, oh mushroom. Now do you saw tea it?

Speaker 2 (03:52):
I sautea it first. Oh, God, sutea it first. And
that's kind of like your replacement for meat. Yeah, you
can kind of call it like spaghetti.

Speaker 1 (03:59):
I didn't like that. I never really cooked mushrooms, but
I one day in my life I will venture off
into mushroom land. I'm not there yet. My husband hates mushrooms, so.

Speaker 2 (04:09):
I'm there in a lot of ways.

Speaker 1 (04:11):
But go ahead, start our lunch through the pasta in
the pad and take me back to what was going on,
and you can start. You can start since this is
your stable go to you can start as far back
as you want, which is good for me because I
want to be really inspired today.

Speaker 2 (04:29):
Okay, I'm trying to think the first time this became
a thing in my life. I think it was when
I became a single. I was a teenage single mom.
Oh yeah, I got pregnant with Kayla, my oldest daughter,
when I was eighteen. I had it when I was nineteen.
I was in college and I was just trying to
figure it out, and I gotta get to work, get
to school, get her to school, gets everything together.

Speaker 1 (04:52):
And you said your parents were strict, super strict. Sorry, guys,
I talked before we got on camera.

Speaker 2 (04:57):
You know what, But I feel like that is the rebellion, right.
So I grew up very sheltered, went to private Christian
school my whole life, went to church every Sunday, and
nothing's wrong with that. But I never got a taste
of the outside world. So when I got a little
taste of it, oh, I tasted it. I was outside
was outside outside?

Speaker 1 (05:15):
What was that discussion like with your parents? Like, hey, guys,
I'm in college and surprise, you know what.

Speaker 2 (05:21):
My mom is deceased now. But she was very intuitive.
She knew the guy was dating and she was like,
don't get pregnant. And I was like, why would I
get pregnant? She was like, don't get pregnant. And I
felt like she knew before I told her. Yeah, I
didn't hide my pregnancy, but I knew something was different.
And because I wasn't I didn't have a wear. I
was a kid. I didn't know what that meant. My

(05:42):
mom knew. She was a registered nurse. So when we
would come home from school and the stomach churts, are
you pregnant? No, I'm not pregnant, And one day I
was just like, I think I'm pregnant. So yeah, it
was a eacy. Yeah, she already had the foresight. I
think had she been blindsided, it would have been worse.

Speaker 1 (05:59):
But she kind of had some intuition and was she
so she was kind of supportive or.

Speaker 2 (06:04):
You know what I will say, they became supportive. Okay,
I think they were disappointed. Obviously they were disappointed.

Speaker 1 (06:12):
And how did that make you feel like knowing that
that was because that's that's got also.

Speaker 2 (06:17):
Like you know, I mean my parents invested a lot
into me as a child. Like like I said, I
went to private Christian school, I had a lot of
access to a lot of things. I had a nuclear family,
So some of the things that I did in early
adulthood weren't really representative of how I felt like my
parents raised me to be. But they never did not
support me. They could have been upset with me or disappointed,

(06:40):
but I never felt like I was on my Yeah.

Speaker 1 (06:43):
They never like turned their back on you. Yeah, like
I was great.

Speaker 2 (06:46):
Yeah, I was a single parent and things were hard,
but I never was like I was down but never
out If that makes sense.

Speaker 1 (06:53):
Good, Yeah, well that's good.

Speaker 2 (06:55):
Yeah, it's good.

Speaker 1 (06:56):
So what the father did he poof.

Speaker 2 (06:59):
Vanished pool Spanish? Poof Spanish? Where is he? Like? No
poof Banish?

Speaker 1 (07:04):
Oh oh you no relationship right now?

Speaker 2 (07:06):
No relationship?

Speaker 1 (07:08):
You are a real, real real though you didn't even
get to argue with the other parents.

Speaker 2 (07:13):
Like I think he was involved often on during the pregnancy,
but I think when Kayla got here and it was
a realization that, like we have this responsibility it was
not something he was ready for, not at all all.

Speaker 1 (07:25):
I wasn't either, Yeah, no one's I went through a
phase of being a single parent. Let me just tell
you something. And people are like, I wasn't ready, Like
do you.

Speaker 2 (07:33):
Think no one's ever ready to be a parent? You
kind of just it's on the job training.

Speaker 1 (07:40):
It's on the job training and young and you're young.
So what are you doing to support yourself during this time?
And do you move in with your parents?

Speaker 2 (07:48):
Yes? So at this point, I'm living in a dorm
with my best friend. I'm living my best life. And no,
this is when I find out I'm pregnant, and so
I have my baby shower. Well, actually I take that back.
I have like a small baby shower. And then the
reality of all the things that I need and I
don't have kind of sets in. And so I asked

(08:08):
my parents to come back home. Of course they immediately
were like yes. But my mom made me pay rent
and she made me have like a plan of action
to get out. She would always tell me there cannot
be two queens in this castle. So you're the queen
now of your house. So you got to figure this out.
And so there was support but there was a very
big push to get me out. And when I oversaved

(08:30):
my welcome, my mom put me out for sure.

Speaker 1 (08:32):
Oh damn.

Speaker 2 (08:34):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (08:35):
Yeah, you're saying that she never turned her back, but
she had this.

Speaker 2 (08:37):
It was her, it was her rule.

Speaker 1 (08:39):
It was did you understand it at the time.

Speaker 2 (08:41):
I didn't understand it at the time. We fall you know,
had a big falling out. I felt like she didn't
have my back. But really what it was is that
I made my bed. I had to lie in it.
It was my responsibility, it was my daughter, was not
her responsibility. And she saw me not doing the things
that I needed to do to prepare for my life
as a single parent, and she just said, you got

(09:01):
to learn. So damn.

Speaker 1 (09:04):
But you want to know something, I know for a
fact that this is why you are as strong and
powerful as you are today.

Speaker 2 (09:09):
I say all the time that that those moments are
the moments that like cultivate, like there's nothing that I
feel like I can't do. You know what I mean,
Like if you can be nineteen years old trying to
figure out how you're going to pay rent and feed
a kid, and you could do anything.

Speaker 1 (09:24):
Yeah, that's when my homeboy told me once, me and
my husband severay I became a single mom, and he
told me, if I can survive this chapter, absolutely, he
was like, you will be invincible. Do you know that?
I feel even remember what we're talking about before, part
of me feels like I've seen I've seen the worst.
I feel like I've seen the worst. I'm just saying, like,

(09:45):
if I survived that shit and things is cool.

Speaker 2 (09:49):
I'm just saying. I'm just saying, so I feel that experience.
You know what that feels like, right, Like when you
get through like the trenches, you're like, oh, there a
walking apart.

Speaker 1 (09:57):
And I think it's a balance of Also, i'd imagine,
and I want to talk about the emotional sign is
like you're going through the motions of heartbreak and oh
my god, what did I do? And also survival where
you got to almost bench press or you know, shove
your feelings yeah, and be like Okay, I'm gonna have
to deal with you at a way later date and
put on my survival skills.

Speaker 2 (10:17):
Yeah. I don't have time to be emotional. The rents,
do the baby school, tuition, is do all the things, oh,
the daycare. I gotta be at work, so I feel
like I didn't even really feel it, you know what
I'm saying, because I was just in survival mode. It
took me years and years to kind of like understand,
Like I'm not even gonna say trauma because that's so dramatic,
but like the weight of it, yeah, like it's heavy.

Speaker 1 (10:40):
Yeah, you don't think there's a little bit of trauma
in there?

Speaker 2 (10:45):
Is it trauma?

Speaker 1 (10:45):
I mean, you remarried, so maybe, but if you hadn't,
you'd have to wonder if there was a little bit
of trauma there.

Speaker 2 (10:51):
I actually remarried twice, so sorry, okay, okay, but yes,
all of it. Yeah, but I don't know, girl.

Speaker 1 (11:02):
Okay, So I'm glad you're not laboring it labeling it
as trauma. That's I'll attribute that to your strength.

Speaker 2 (11:09):
Okay, Yeah, but you're right, it is a little bit
of trauma. I'm maybe never pictured it as that it is,
to be honest with you, though, because it's something you
do have to heal from.

Speaker 1 (11:18):
Yeah. Yeah, yeah, it's trauma. Yeah, because eventually you had
to revisit.

Speaker 2 (11:21):
It, right for sure, and it comes up in the
moments and the seasons that you're not expecting. Yeah, right,
like even now, when I feel pressure, I'm like, oh
my god, like I'm reminded of those times, even at
forty one years old, and that was when I was eighteen.
Ye so yeah, it's real. Dang, it's real.

Speaker 1 (11:39):
Okay. So how long were you at Mama's house before
the queen had the little mini queen had lived.

Speaker 2 (11:46):
I know, my dad is probably gonna say it wasn't
we let you know, dad, y'all put me out.

Speaker 1 (11:50):
It was as good though.

Speaker 2 (11:52):
Yeah, no, it's good. I tell them all the time.
I had the best parents in the world because they
taught me to have to be self sufficient.

Speaker 1 (11:59):
It was maybe about ye okay, Oh yeah, that's brutal.
That's brutal, okay, but that okay. So you move out,
you get like a little.

Speaker 2 (12:09):
Bent, a little like I'm like, I don't even want
to call it a one bedroom. It might have been
a studio. I don't even I remember looking at all
areas of the house for one space. It was a
little small space and Kaylyn and I made it work.
I remember she painted like the walls pink, black and white.

Speaker 1 (12:28):
And she was one or two or something. No, no, no,
whoa as you got as we.

Speaker 2 (12:32):
Got older, but yeah, that was like kind of like
our hug. That was our place for a while until
I figured it out.

Speaker 1 (12:38):
And what were you doing for work?

Speaker 2 (12:39):
Let's see, I was working at Burlington Coke Factory as
a lost prevention agent. Yeah, yeah, what was I doing?
I was working just like for a temp agencies. Like
because I was in school too, so I was going.

Speaker 1 (12:52):
To You were still going to school too, jesus.

Speaker 2 (12:54):
So no, this is a good thing that my parents did.
So they would not watch Kayla for me if I
had to go out or hang out with friends, but
if I had school or work, they always helped. So
even if I was living on my own, So the
routine was I would go to work at night. I'm sorry,
we go to school at night, get off obviously, do
my mom thing, wake up in the morning and take
her to school and just start all over again and
go to work. And I was kind of like my

(13:15):
routine to help me with her in the evening.

Speaker 1 (13:17):
Well that's that's a blessing exactly. And let me tell
you something, no disrespect to having children, shout outs. I
love my child. But like if I had to choose
between school and like an additional three hours with my
kid every day, I'll choose school. Yeah, I'm glad I
would take this guy.

Speaker 2 (13:31):
The moms understand what that mean, like you, it's inaction.

Speaker 1 (13:36):
I will gladly take school.

Speaker 2 (13:39):
Look at this, I'm about to burn over three hours.

Speaker 1 (13:41):
I don't think you could burn it overcook it, that's
what Okay, okay, so already fascinated by this, this chapter
of Brokeness, so super brokeness. So your daughter and was
living off spaghetti.

Speaker 2 (13:53):
You were living off spaghetti. We were living off a
poyo loco.

Speaker 1 (13:58):
Like, okay, in school? So you graduate school for what.

Speaker 2 (14:02):
I graduated with my degree in social work.

Speaker 1 (14:05):
Social work? Isn't that an industry that doesn't really pay.

Speaker 2 (14:09):
Not at all? But I just wanted to fix the world,
I said. I wanted to tell pregnant and parenting teens.
I wanted to I.

Speaker 1 (14:15):
Feel you, though, because I always tell myself, if I
became rich, smart, like my whole life's work would be
dedicated to single moms, like I would be like, yo,
I'm totally we're gonna help you all out. And okay, okay,
so you're don't burn itself.

Speaker 2 (14:30):
I don't.

Speaker 1 (14:30):
I got the fake insurance here. I try to y'all all,
y'all successful people will be relying solely on your insurance.

Speaker 2 (14:38):
I think I got this. I've done it too many times. Yes, yes,
oh that's up. Oh we we got it.

Speaker 1 (14:47):
You got it?

Speaker 2 (14:48):
I do.

Speaker 1 (14:49):
Okay. So at what point after this degree comes in,
do you say, hmmm, I think I want to venture
off into crazy, crazy entrepreneur lands.

Speaker 2 (14:57):
It was a long time, so the degree was life
changing for me because I was able to go get
a job where I had a regular paycheck benefits because
I worked for La County DCFS. Okay, like eight years.

Speaker 1 (15:10):
Okay, do you get pensions and all that?

Speaker 2 (15:12):
All of that. I didn't stay long enough to get it.
I think you have to stay like ten years to
get vested. I left right before that point. But the
benefits are amazing, health insurance, paid time off, vacation, all
the stuff that you don't get at the kind of
jobs I was working before. So that's kind of like
when my life got easier. Okay, Yeah, I think Kayla
would say the same thing.

Speaker 1 (15:34):
God and she and then were you vocal about what
you guys were going through because it was the two
of you?

Speaker 2 (15:39):
Yeah, I feel like maybe a little too vocal, right.
She knew a lot of things she knew. You know
that sometimes I didn't have it and sometimes but what
I never tried to do was make her feel it
too much, you know what I mean? Like I never
had her excluded from anything at school, you know, the
field trip or something like that. I always tried to
send her with the best. Yeah, because I never her

(16:00):
to feel what I was going through. Yeah. Yeah. So
even now, like we've had conversations she's twenty one now,
thank god, and she'll say, you know, I remember having
this and that and I don't know how you did it.
And I'm like, I don't know how I did it either,
but we made it happen. So I made it happen.

Speaker 1 (16:13):
But now, are you guys because you went through that,
are you guys like more like best friends ish parents type?

Speaker 2 (16:19):
I feel like even though her mom, we more have
like a big sister little sister type relationship. She still
very much relies on me and listens to me. But
we're just so close.

Speaker 1 (16:30):
Okay. I love that close. I love that so close,
so close. Okay, So okay, you're doing the social work,
you're working for eight years.

Speaker 2 (16:37):
You say, mm hmm dcfs yep.

Speaker 1 (16:39):
Where does the bugs start to pivot.

Speaker 2 (16:42):
So I got married, Okay, Yeah, I got married and
my ex husband was a business owner and a physician, okay,
and he kind of put in my ear so you
know you. I helped him with his business while I
was working at DCFS, and he said, you you can,
you figure the things out, like you could do this. So,
even though we're not on good terms now, in those moments,
he did inspire me to let me know that if

(17:03):
he could, you know, have a full time job as
a physician and run a business like I could do
it too. Like I have that insight, I have that instinct,
and I came from a family.

Speaker 1 (17:11):
Of business owners. He was he was a physician and
running a business, yes, and then he realized you could
do the same.

Speaker 2 (17:17):
Yep.

Speaker 1 (17:18):
I was helping him a lot, okay right with his
business and what business was he in.

Speaker 2 (17:22):
He had a juice bar. He had a franchise juice bar,
so I helped run that, and then he had a
practice as a position he practice, so there were a
lot of things that we did together to put in
place to get his business off the ground. And being
successful in his space empowered me to say, if I
can help this man make.

Speaker 1 (17:40):
It, do it for yourself.

Speaker 2 (17:41):
Absolutely hell yeah.

Speaker 1 (17:43):
So how so when from that point did that transition.
Did you go Okay, I'm gonna do it. And then
obviously you're saying you kept a job too at the same.

Speaker 2 (17:52):
Time I did. So this is everybody's like, I quit
my nine to five baby girl, don't do that. I
needed that, even being you know, married to a physician,
even having I wouldn't say a rich lifestyle, but it
was comfortable. I wasn't worried about like the roof over
my head. I still never was comfortable quitting my job.

Speaker 1 (18:10):
And then were you able to fully trust I guess
after being a single mom where you did you have
like secret person money where you Okay, yeah, I'm saying,
because I don't have to be in a single parent
you like.

Speaker 2 (18:22):
I.

Speaker 1 (18:24):
Like your hands.

Speaker 2 (18:27):
There was always a trust fund somewhere somewhere.

Speaker 1 (18:30):
Okay, hey, I like it. Yeah exactly.

Speaker 2 (18:34):
I think you can do things when you're married community like,
there's nothing wrong with that, But that foresight of knowing
like I've had to do this on my own before
never allowed me to like relinquish like full.

Speaker 1 (18:45):
And I feel like a little bit of trauma speaking up.
You know what I'm saying because because you know what
I'm saying, It's like, yo, he never gonna happen to
me again.

Speaker 2 (18:56):
Exactly, I'll never live in a studio apartment with That's
what I'm looking for, Like a look at me. This
is the real struggle right here, cooking with a fork.

Speaker 1 (19:07):
You scratching the heck out of that pot.

Speaker 2 (19:09):
I am, I am, I hope it. Oh there we go.
That's better.

Speaker 1 (19:11):
Yeah, much better. Okay, so you're in this marriage, you
start to go, You're right, I'm a baddie. Let's go
do this. So what's the first play?

Speaker 2 (19:23):
The first play is is I'm into hair. So part
of what I did I didn't even bring this up
when I was a single parent, is I had a
friend that worked in the industry and she would sometimes
have like stand in modeling gigs or things like that.
So I modeled. I'm like almost six feet tall, so.

Speaker 1 (19:39):
You are tall, huh Yeah.

Speaker 2 (19:41):
So there were times that I did, like infomercials, like
modeling gigs on the side just to kind of get through.
And so I always was obsessed with my hair. That
was just like a thing. So I said, what could
I do as a business that I like I love
and wouldn't feel like work. And the first thing was hair.
I love beauty supply stores. I love hair. You'll see
me today with this hair.

Speaker 1 (20:02):
You'll see that I love your hair. But thank you
love it you already know, thank you.

Speaker 2 (20:05):
I love mixing it up. So every week, even when
I was working for a DCFS, like when I got
my paycheck, one of the first things I would do
after I paid my bills was, you know, go get
a new wig, Go get some new hair, mix it up.
Like That's how I felt good about myself. So I
knew that that was something that would never feel like
work to me if I found a niche in the
hair business. And so I started a hair company.

Speaker 1 (20:25):
Okay, a hair company. And what did that hair company do?

Speaker 2 (20:29):
So we sold hair extensions, weaves, wigs, and then I
took the proceeds from that, and then I started a
beauty supply store. And then that's where the chain the
girl Kvetlet came from.

Speaker 1 (20:40):
Wow, and you were competing against Now that industry is
monopoly by I want to I don't want to say,
is it correct very much? Okay? Okay?

Speaker 2 (20:49):
Yeah?

Speaker 1 (20:50):
And so you're getting into a space where there's not
that many people that look and feel like you.

Speaker 2 (20:55):
Correct, So I started my stores ten years ago. When
I started ten years ago, there was no one that
looked like me and my distributor. I think now it's
kind of shifted where there's more black ownership and beauty
supply stores. But when I started, absolutely not. So being
able to even get my distributors to open up accounts
for me was like a hard a hard test. Wow.

Speaker 1 (21:17):
And you say distributors, is that the people that sell
you the middleman?

Speaker 2 (21:20):
Basically wow, yes, because obviously you don't buy from the
manufacturers because they have these huge minimums fifty sixty seventy
eighty thousand and oh.

Speaker 1 (21:28):
We don't know that, just so you know, Oh, ok,
got it educated up right, because everyone has not opened
up a beauty supply store. I just thought. You go
to the manufacturers, and they are I mean.

Speaker 2 (21:37):
In some cases, but a lot of the bigger manufacturers
because they are so large, they have six figure minimums
fifty sixty seventy eighty thousand dollars, and so you carry
so many lines, you can't go to every manufacturer, so
you go to essentially a wholesaler. Yeah, so that was
the struggle.

Speaker 1 (21:56):
You learned all this on the boots on the ground.

Speaker 2 (21:58):
Okay. I was a stalker and beauty supply stores for
probably like six months before I even started. I would
go in and see like if they had boxes on
the floor, if they were restocking, like where their boxes
were coming from.

Speaker 1 (22:09):
You, Yeah, all right, go ahead, my kind of gang.
So okay.

Speaker 2 (22:12):
So I figured it out. And then when I found
out where some of the main distributors were in LA,
I just went in and I, you know, finagled them
to open up my accounts.

Speaker 1 (22:24):
Okay. And then once you had accounts, did you go
online or did you go store right away?

Speaker 2 (22:28):
I did a pop up shop first. So I didn't
sign a long term lease because at this point I'm
still not like confident. I don't know if this is
going to work. I took a leave of absence from
my job. I didn't quit because I was scared that
I wouldn't be able to figure it out.

Speaker 1 (22:40):
How long is a leave of absence?

Speaker 2 (22:42):
So I took like a three month one. Then I
renewed it for like another three months. So I took
like do.

Speaker 1 (22:47):
You get paid on leaves of absence?

Speaker 2 (22:48):
You can use your time, So I saved up like
my vacation time, my PTO time. So you use that you're.

Speaker 1 (22:55):
Smart smart Yeah, okay, and then that's when you would
just pour into the business. Okay. I love the way
you're thinking. This is chess, not checking, this.

Speaker 2 (23:04):
Is and I need my pay checks st at this point,
I need something coming.

Speaker 1 (23:08):
And are you still married at this I'm still married? Oh?

Speaker 2 (23:10):
Still married? Okay, still married.

Speaker 1 (23:12):
And he's he's he's he's whispering supportive things in your
ear to keep.

Speaker 2 (23:16):
For the most part at this point, Yeah, he's like,
you know, figure it out, quit your job. You got it.
And I'm like, no, I'm not quitting my job. I
need my job. Ye, I need exactly, exactly exactly. We're
not quitting any jobs that pay us on the first
and the fifteenth. I need that. So yeah, it was
really like, once I got the store off the ground

(23:36):
and I saw that I could get to a point
to make it profitable, then I felt comfortable quitting my job.
But it wasn't immediate. It wasn't like, oh, I have
this great business idea, I'm gonnaquit my job tomorrow.

Speaker 1 (23:47):
Yeah, And did you wait for the cash flow to
build up before you actually pulled that trigger?

Speaker 2 (23:51):
Yeah, I did. I did, and I waited until I
had like a profitable season, like.

Speaker 1 (23:56):
I didn't just season.

Speaker 2 (23:57):
Yeah, it wasn't like I had a profitable week. I
went like thirty days and I'm like, okay, we're tracking up.
We're tracking up. Cool because obviously in the beginning you don't. No.

Speaker 1 (24:06):
No, I usually trying to avoid pulling a check from
any company now until year two, which is hard to do.
But I'll tell you this. I like to build up
a healthy cash flow before I jump on payroll. That's
just my thing because it is just I don't know
if it's the pandemics and all the hurdles we done
went through. I'm traumatized.

Speaker 2 (24:27):
I get it.

Speaker 1 (24:27):
I'm like, no, after year two, we could start dipping
into the kiddie fund that everyone else gets paid obviously first,
but I try and survive lean and not off that
company for the first two.

Speaker 2 (24:40):
That's that's good. Yeah, that's but I wasn't that disciplined
I was.

Speaker 1 (24:45):
I was doing that means you were doing that means
you were doing good though good enough. I feel like
sometimes people underestimate, like and I have this discussion all
the time. There's a difference between how much money you
make and cash flow and the cash flow, I believe
it or not, it does no matter how much money
you generated as a company. If you can't manage that
cash flow, it means absolutely not.

Speaker 2 (25:06):
You can make one hundred thousand dollars today, but if
you've got to spend ninety nine thousand to get there.

Speaker 1 (25:10):
What is it? Yeah? And people, I meet too many
entrepreneurs that don't quite understand cash But no, no, no,
you have to respect that one little You gotta respect
that flow you do and that's the only way you
could really grow. In my opinion, it looks.

Speaker 2 (25:30):
Good though you know, now I know this is this
is a little nostalgic for me. Yeah, I remember like
having to do this after work.

Speaker 1 (25:39):
And so how many beauty supply stores do you own?

Speaker 2 (25:43):
It? We actually so in the height when I the
Girl Cave, we had seven six locations. Now we've scaled
back and we have four. We've closed two of them
that were in areas that just didn't they just weren't working.
So after the pandemic, we decided to close those two locals.
But you close or so close, totally closed, and then

(26:05):
we filtraded the inventory into other stores. So there wasn't
like a total loss, so we kind of just saw
it through at the end of those leases and said
thank you, Ben, no thanks and yeah, focused on the
stores that were super profitable.

Speaker 1 (26:16):
And are they all in LA.

Speaker 2 (26:17):
Yes, So we have one in Inglewood, I went in
South Los Angeles, one in Anaheim, and then the other
location in Texas.

Speaker 1 (26:25):
Oh Anna, what made you go all the way to Anaheim?

Speaker 2 (26:28):
A franchisee? So some of the.

Speaker 1 (26:30):
Franchises, I mean, you are a franchise.

Speaker 2 (26:32):
Sorry, correct? Correct? So when I had a mother and
daughter approach and they wanted to open up a location
and they were comfortable in Orange County and they found
a location in Anaheim, and so we opened it. Wow.

Speaker 1 (26:45):
Yeah, And now can you tell us the pros of
being a franchisee For all those listeners out there that
are thinking, hey, I want to open a beauty supply
stories seem it's really easy.

Speaker 2 (26:54):
You know what. I think that's the irony of it.
People think because it's hair and because it's beauty, it's easy.
It's actually not, like the industry doesn't make it easier.
So I would say, yeah, don't get into a franchise
model and think because the model already exists that it
somehow is like easy. It's not.

Speaker 1 (27:10):
Oh, I thought it would be easier if you do
a franchise.

Speaker 2 (27:13):
You still got to have that instinct to go get it.
You know what I'm saying. It's not like a blueprint
of success. It's maybe you know some systems in place,
which is helpful. I'm not going to say it's not.
But but you also have the distributors, right, correct, So
those are things that are easier, right, So it's built in.
You don't have to go find your distributors, you don't
have to go find your product list, but you still
got to be in there and interacting with your staff

(27:33):
and making sure you meet payroll and making sure you're
meeting your sales goals. Like that doesn't yeah, that doesn't
go away. Yeah. Yeah. So and I learned that because
the juice bar that my ex husband had was in
a franchise model. So I learned the pros and cons
of being a franchisee. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (27:52):
But for any listeners out there, would you advise franchise
over or starting on your own?

Speaker 2 (27:58):
It depends on the industry. I think, Okay, this industry,
beauty supply industry. I would say yes, because there's so
many pieces that go with it. If it's something that
you're familiar and then a lot of people are not
familiar with the hair industry. Like I just started talking
about manufacturers and stuff and you're like, hold on this
and go back. Oh no, we don't know, we don't know.
So if that is not instinctual to you, if that

(28:19):
doesn't make sense to you, then yeah, obviously a franchise model.
But if it's an industry that you're familiar with, I
wouldn't go to the franchise out, Okay. I just wouldn't, okay,
because part of being the business owner is you get
the creativity and you get to build, and the franchise
you don't. It's no creative. The creative is.

Speaker 1 (28:37):
There already controlled. You gotta ask for permission, right because
that's the queen of the house.

Speaker 2 (28:45):
It's exactly down to the color of your walls, right.
Like I remember being in a franchise model with the
juice bar and they say, you know what, we're changing
all the stories, concepts and you have to pay for that.
Franchise is not giving you money to pa cheap. Hey,
we don't want to do plastic anymore. We want wood finishing.
Like you're at the discretion of a corporate model. So yes,

(29:09):
great when you're starting, but as you grow as a
business owner and you want that leverage to be able
to be creative, you don't really have that in a
franchise model. Dang. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (29:19):
Okay, so after the Cave the Girl Cave La. Now
you have all your stores. It's been in business for
over ten years now.

Speaker 2 (29:29):
Yes, we just celebrated ten years in April this year.

Speaker 1 (29:33):
Okay, so what is your next place? Because you have
multiple businesses.

Speaker 2 (29:37):
You know what, I Oh, my goodness, I'm becoming less
fascinated with retail, and I really want to dive into
more the digital marketing space with our brand, because you know,
we have hype Per now under the Hypeer before though
or I brought hype Peer after hyper has been existence
for thirty five years, but I purchased it five years ago.

Speaker 1 (29:57):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (29:57):
Oh okay, so I really want to dig into that more.
Retail is cool, but it's brutal. Yeah, it's like, honestly,
sometimes I think, how did you get into the restaurant
business and the retail business, Like you pick the most hardest.

Speaker 1 (30:09):
Yeah, the restaurant business, the club business and the magazine
business are like the worst. I mean, not the worst,
and they are.

Speaker 2 (30:14):
They're the worst to make money.

Speaker 1 (30:16):
And I feel like you just have to have a
real good, strong sales ethic. And I don't know if you,
as the owner, are that much removed because I feel
like the owner is always the best sales person.

Speaker 2 (30:25):
I am.

Speaker 1 (30:26):
I am, and I hate that. I know, I hate that.
Don't you wish you could clone yourself?

Speaker 2 (30:31):
I know, I said all the time, if I have
five of me's, i'd be a billionaire.

Speaker 1 (30:34):
Yeah, yeah, for sure, it would be well same my number.
You know, maybe you Okay, So okay, tell me about
Hype hair.

Speaker 2 (30:42):
Got it? So everybody knows hype hair, Like it's just
nostalgic for for all women of color. I think I
don't think it's just black women, because I have a
lot of friends from different races, and when I told
them I was purchasing Hype Hair, They're like, oh, I
remember that magazine. So we've had Beyonce on the cover,
Rihanna Nyah Long like, think of every staple. It's a

(31:03):
staple magazine exactly. So through the process of owning The
Girl k La and I was doing reality TV. I
was doing some press with Hypeer. A friend of mine, Mimi,
who's in Atlanta, has a sister publication, and she said,
you should meet the owner. I think he's going to sell. Yeah,
a guy, a white guy from New Jersey own Hypeer.

(31:25):
Isn't that crazy? Would Yeah, a white guy from New
Jersey super He's like I could call him to this day.
He's a really good guy. But he was going to
sail and he said, you know what, I feel like
the right thing to do is to park hype Haer
in the hands of a woman of color. So yeah,
we got to know each other. We negotiated, We went
back and forth, we tried to decide what we were

(31:46):
going to do, and then we came to an agreement.
And then we went and he sold me Hypeer.

Speaker 1 (31:51):
Wow, Now what did that body of work look like?
Come on, we gotta we gotta dive. You see the
pot is even.

Speaker 2 (32:04):
Oh my god, it's so much. It's so much like
hype Pair is a legacy publication, so there's so much
responsibility in that. You can't just slap anything on the cover.
Like our subscribers are savvy, they're loyal, they've been a
part of the magazine for years. So it's just a
lot of I could go on and on. It's just

(32:27):
a lot of work.

Speaker 1 (32:28):
Yeah, what hat do you wear? Primarily since taking over.

Speaker 2 (32:32):
Everything, really, I'm really focused on visibility and sales right now,
so making sure we have the right partnerships, the right
brand partnerships, to make sure that people don't see us
as just you know, going to grab money, but they
see it as authentic relationships. So a lot of the
brands that we're working with and a lot of brands
want to work with Hype Pair. I'm super grateful for that,
but sometimes we're not able to work with them because

(32:52):
we don't want our subscribers and the people that are
following us to feel like we're just putting something in
front of their face.

Speaker 1 (32:57):
You're turning down checks.

Speaker 2 (32:59):
Sometime, what if it doesn't align what I know? It's no,
I know, if it doesn't align with the vision and
of Hypair, you know it just it doesn't look. That's
how I feel. Sometimes I'm like, no, we.

Speaker 1 (33:12):
Can't now, Yeah, you're making that executive decision to say no,
you making.

Speaker 2 (33:17):
Because it's a legacy brand.

Speaker 1 (33:19):
I get it.

Speaker 2 (33:20):
It comes it's a lot with it. So I can't
just you know, there's so many brands that just want
to get on the backs of that voice, because you
do have a strong voice. And no, we're not turning
down a lot of checks now, but I'm just saying
just every once in a while, yeah, if it doesn't
align with the mission. To me, all money is not
good money.

Speaker 1 (33:39):
I only say that when a person haggles me. Whenever
a person haggles me, I'm like, no, no, no, keep your money.

Speaker 2 (33:45):
I already know you, already know what that's going to
turn into exactly.

Speaker 1 (33:48):
But if you're not haggling, I'm I'm up for negotiation.
That's the only time I label bad money is when
you haggle. Anytime someone haggles, I'm like, I'm.

Speaker 2 (33:58):
Good, you know what that comes.

Speaker 1 (34:00):
I don't mind a discount, but a haggle, A haggle
is out. It's a non negotiable. We don't even have
to need We part in peace. But you're turning out checks,
okay for our legacy on.

Speaker 2 (34:14):
A scalt of one to ten, that's like a point five. Yes.
The point I'm making is is that because there's so
much history with the brand, we can't just say yes
to everything. I like that we have to be in
you know, we are inclusive, but we have to be
exclusive also at the same time.

Speaker 1 (34:30):
So what's the day in the life working for Hype Air, Well.

Speaker 2 (34:32):
We ask my publisher, I probably get on her nerves.
I love you, Trish, But we are always posting on
socials or making sure our voice is heard. We're talking
to brands about advertising with us. A lot of things
that we've done in the last four years under my
leadership is not traditional advertising. We're doing like activations, So
we've done activations in Miami for brands. Essence Fest is

(34:55):
another big platform for us where we activate with brands.
Finder Brothers the show have you familiar Runner Brothers. They
do a huge hair show in Atlanta, so we've been
their media partners. So just really cultivating those relationships. I say,
you don't always get on the phone with someone just
when you need money, right, Like a lot of it
is like checking in, like what is the brand need

(35:16):
from us? And sometimes we do things for free because
brands are loyal to us. So it's now do cultivate.

Speaker 1 (35:23):
Ever bring the two companies you have together.

Speaker 2 (35:26):
All the time. I'm actually in the process of dissolving
the girl k La and making all of our stories
hype here, so.

Speaker 1 (35:33):
We'll be the beauty umbrella that actually makes absolute perfect sense.
And that's actually very brilliant, very that's smart.

Speaker 2 (35:43):
I'm excited for that transition. It should be done by
the end of this year.

Speaker 1 (35:46):
Yeah, that's that's a big move and it's a big movie.
That was your genius.

Speaker 2 (35:51):
Yeah, I just felt like I was working on two ships.
It's like, no, no, let's put everything together and let's
drive the same boat.

Speaker 1 (35:58):
So now you have a retail section of h and
now you have the magazine digital where you bring in
all these other additional partners that are targeting that same demo.

Speaker 2 (36:06):
Correct, and then we have a we have licensing deals,
so we like a licensing deal with Connie, the haircare
company of the you did that do so it was
it was existing, but it was dormant. So under my leadership,
I cultivated the relationship where we relaunched our lines. So
we're in I want to say, like eight thousand stores
right now Burlington, North Trump's, Rag Walmart's and Walmart's in Canada,

(36:27):
but I think we're in like eight thousand doors right now.

Speaker 1 (36:30):
That's amazing. Yep, all right, and then let's move into
the last well, the last currently that I know about. Yes,
if I'm missing something, the Savoy hah, I just wanted
to make it harder.

Speaker 2 (36:47):
Yeah, like you have a magazine and retail stores, like
let's go open a club, right.

Speaker 1 (36:52):
And this all happened around the same time as Hype.

Speaker 2 (36:54):
Pair, right, Yes, so high Pair came first. Okay, super
super successful, like right when I took over it, and
my confidence was like, oh cool, Like I'm like, we're
doing this, and the opportunity the Savoy I'm from Inglewood,
still live in Inglewood.

Speaker 1 (37:10):
That's like, you like these legacy things I do?

Speaker 2 (37:14):
I do. I feel like it. I feel like parts
of our culture should be owned by people that care,
and I feel like I care good. So yeah, the Savoy.
I was literally driving down the Brain and I saw
for sale sign. I called my sister and I say,
let's the SA Boys for sale, and she immediately says,
let's buy it. I'm thinking my sister is going to
be like, girl, keep driving. She is.

Speaker 1 (37:36):
She is You guys are terrible to get she is
my sister. I love that for you.

Speaker 2 (37:40):
Yeah, she owns They actually are ranked one of the
top wine bars in the country in Inglewood. It's called
ten ten Wines and it's.

Speaker 1 (37:49):
Yeah, oh, y'all are like a dynamic.

Speaker 2 (37:51):
Yeah yeah, yeah. So when they did see this is
what I'm saying. It's hard for me to be upset
that they put me out because they put they put
that in us.

Speaker 1 (37:59):
If you were homeless, I'll blame them to You could
have gone either way to feed us.

Speaker 2 (38:06):
Yes, okay, I'm sitting here talking and I'm gonna mix
this in because I don't want to make too much
of a mess. And go ahead, there we go.

Speaker 1 (38:13):
I'm sure people in the back are hungry too. I
know you're feeding the whole crew today.

Speaker 2 (38:18):
Is that okay? Well, I hope.

Speaker 1 (38:22):
I made brenzino for lunch. I make a mean brenzino.

Speaker 2 (38:25):
Do you know that that's my favorite fish?

Speaker 1 (38:27):
Are you a mean?

Speaker 2 (38:30):
I love a good whole branzino with some olives and tomatoes,
and like a.

Speaker 1 (38:34):
Girl, I don't do all that you just made my bandle,
I'm gonna make you a really good Brenzino. I make
really good brinzino. I practice it almost every week. I'm
prating ways. Yes, I love prinzina. Okay, yes, my favorite fish.

Speaker 2 (38:48):
It's my favorite too.

Speaker 3 (38:49):
That's crazy, Okay, we have a lot of common, all right,
So this is the boy you call, y'all A like,
let's do it.

Speaker 2 (39:01):
She says, let's buy it. So I called the real
estate agent and they say, well, come see it. I'm like,
well when they said, well, we're actually here now.

Speaker 1 (39:11):
Now, when they say for sale, they mean the restaurant
was for sale or the brand was for.

Speaker 2 (39:15):
Sale, so not the business. The building. Oh, the building, Yes,
the building was for sale at this time. I didn't
know what was for sale. I just saw it for sale. Song.
We later found out that the building was for sale,
and so that's why we we kind of gutted it,
renovated it, and we've made it our own. It's actually
called Free event Space now.

Speaker 1 (39:32):
Free event Space okay, so we're not plugging this boy.
We're plugging Free events Space.

Speaker 2 (39:36):
You know what we get away from the name, though, I.

Speaker 1 (39:39):
Know, I love that she loves her legacy. You can't
get a Savoy you end up at the same spot.

Speaker 2 (39:44):
I was there this morning and a lady called and
she said, where are you guys? And I just said,
where the old Savoy is. She immediately knew what I
was talking about. So it's like, so, okay, so you
can fight it. Okay, I love that for you. I
love the Savoy. When it was the Savoy, I loved it.
So listen, it's called for event space now, but it's.

Speaker 1 (40:02):
Free form event space, but it's formally the Savoyd correct. Okay,
Well I'll be going there.

Speaker 2 (40:08):
Yeah, yeah, yeah. We have amazing food, amazing staff. I
love it. Okay, I'm there every Now.

Speaker 1 (40:12):
Are you guys competitively priced like comparison to people who
host events at the like the hotels.

Speaker 2 (40:20):
Oh, we're way more affordable.

Speaker 1 (40:22):
Okay.

Speaker 2 (40:23):
All of our client we do have corporate clients, but
ninety five percent of our clients are people that are
in the community. We do repass as birthday parties.

Speaker 1 (40:30):
What's the capacity on it?

Speaker 2 (40:32):
Oh, I think we're at like five twenty.

Speaker 1 (40:34):
Five twenty is it layers?

Speaker 2 (40:35):
It's ten thousand square feet.

Speaker 1 (40:37):
I haven't been in there because I know you remodeled it, right.

Speaker 2 (40:40):
Yeah, so we have like a little small staircase that
leads to outdoor patio, but it's all one level.

Speaker 1 (40:44):
Awesome, ten thousand square and then can you break up
the room if you're doing less? How what are the
breaking sets, the event.

Speaker 2 (40:51):
Planner and guys, I know, I know you have a
lounge area, okay, that we accommodate seventy five or less, okay,
but the main space is five five twenty twenty awesome.

Speaker 1 (41:01):
Who who's events to be hosted? If you don't mind
me as we let's see.

Speaker 2 (41:05):
We've had so many artists. Romaine Virgo, who's my favorite
Jamaican singers. He's performed there.

Speaker 1 (41:12):
You are going to destroy your clothes. Girl. You are
not bad and good right now I'm Talking's the other
tool to feed us?

Speaker 2 (41:19):
Please? Like I gotta eat, listen, I don't want to taste.
I gotta taste to be prest servant because I don't
want you.

Speaker 1 (41:26):
You can't mess some spaghetti, especially if you know how
to make you be able to mess it up, because
I don't. You was pulling a lot of soap, but
you know because.

Speaker 2 (41:35):
It's slap you guys have to slap your mama. That's
like one of my favorite that's real New Orleans.

Speaker 1 (41:41):
I know it's good. Is it good? Please don't judge it.
Come on, just feed us, man, feed us.

Speaker 2 (41:49):
No, I don't even want to give it to you.

Speaker 1 (41:51):
Why it can't be that bad.

Speaker 2 (41:52):
No, it can be.

Speaker 1 (41:53):
Look, don't worry that they halfn't wait and me will
enjoy it regardless. Okay, I don't feel right serving, let's
see it. We'll be fine. This is just for the show.
And then I'll tell everybody. We'll tell everybody listens how
it's terrible your.

Speaker 2 (42:11):
No, no, no, it's bad. We go it's bad.

Speaker 1 (42:15):
I hope it's good.

Speaker 2 (42:16):
No, no, no, it's not. I'm not even gonna blame you.
Did I give you an don't mom, No, it's not bad.

Speaker 1 (42:24):
No, okay, maybe and you can give me more smarty. Okay,
it was not bad at all. Okay, it wasn't bad
at all. I don't know what she's talking about.

Speaker 2 (42:33):
I had higher expectations for it. Maybe that's what.

Speaker 1 (42:35):
Okay, So then we'll blame the half white. We'll blame
the half white of me for enjoying this regardless. You know,
look at it. It has the peppers in it, just
a little bit like the onions. It feels like it's
a real Plasta dish like you. You know, it's official.

(42:56):
Don't hate on your food.

Speaker 2 (42:57):
Isn't it a little bit more? Slap your mama?

Speaker 1 (42:59):
No, it's okay, fine, okay, you want to add more
salt and poisoning, right, because.

Speaker 2 (43:05):
That's a whole nother thing.

Speaker 1 (43:07):
Ms. Fine, was okay, it's delicious. I would love to
hate on you, but it's fine.

Speaker 2 (43:16):
It's perfect on a scale of one to ten. My
feelings won't get hurt.

Speaker 1 (43:20):
I did not eat. For all your listeners, it is
a certified nine. What I didn't eat though I was starving. Okay,
I had apples for breakfast.

Speaker 2 (43:29):
Okay, I'll take my nine. I'm taking my nie take
your name, I'm taking it.

Speaker 1 (43:34):
I think it's perfect. Okay, cool, all right, I don't
know what what do you think is bad about it?
It's seasoned, it has enough.

Speaker 2 (43:43):
Maybe the noodles are a little bit overcooked. Maybe that's
what I'm feeling. No, no, are.

Speaker 1 (43:49):
You judging yourself hard?

Speaker 2 (43:50):
See why am I like that?

Speaker 1 (43:51):
Yeah? Here, move the things before you spill that on yourself.
And moved that to the side so we get a
get shot of you.

Speaker 2 (43:58):
Oh no, I got it?

Speaker 1 (44:00):
Yeah you good? Yeah, this is delicious.

Speaker 2 (44:06):
What do you think you would change the Pastasa does
not know? Maybe that's what's.

Speaker 1 (44:13):
Not at all?

Speaker 2 (44:14):
Okay, So it's just perfect.

Speaker 1 (44:18):
M right, you're over judging it. H You're totally over
judging it. Matter of fact, I would have messed up
the pasta because you totally freestyled of with no timer.
So I did. And you know this is perfect pasta. Congratulations.
Not only are a great entrepreneur, but you can cook.

Speaker 2 (44:38):
Okay, I can throw something together ant.

Speaker 1 (44:42):
And you know what, if I cook pasta from now on,
I will add peppers and onions to it because I
think it makes a difference.

Speaker 2 (44:47):
It does, It totally does. Absolutely.

Speaker 1 (44:49):
Now I get why when you was broke, you still
you still hooked it up much as a bell pepper,
Like yeah, like this whole meal was less than five bucks.
See yeah, and we had protein pasta, come on, so
you could feel a little less guilty about eating it.

Speaker 2 (45:02):
You know all the time you can make it work
with less than ten dollars.

Speaker 1 (45:07):
So okay, So the savoy take me into the day
in the life, the ups and downs of what happened
with that whole transaction, because I know no transactions ever smooth.
Oh my god, I could literally does it come with
a liquor license? M hm okay, good right, well tell.

Speaker 2 (45:20):
Me no, it didn't. It came with an opportunity to
buy a liquor license, but we ended up going through
a broker. But yes, it was for sale with the
liquor license. We went on our our own journey to
get our own but and.

Speaker 1 (45:32):
Then did you have someone else negotiate your lease?

Speaker 2 (45:36):
So we ended up buying the building.

Speaker 1 (45:38):
Oh you bought the building. Oh you guys were like,
I don't want to use Donald Trump, but you are Trumpet.
I don't know another person to use. But oh, y'all
are like that. And you did it as sisters.

Speaker 2 (45:50):
Yes, so yeah, my sisters and I were call owners. Yes,
three of us. My sister Leslie and I are like
super involved though we're the and y'all.

Speaker 1 (46:01):
Want it together. Oh, this story just got better. And
what did the husband say? So the husband that's.

Speaker 2 (46:11):
The ex husband. Now, so that's a whole story. So
we brought it obviously I'm married, California everything.

Speaker 1 (46:17):
Yeah, the unity say, did y'all buy it under a
corporation or we did?

Speaker 2 (46:20):
We did, and then it was separate, So no, the
problem we brought it with the it was my sisters
and obviously I'm married, so it was the ex husband
and so part of the struggle after we purchased the
building is we were going through a divorce. We ended
up filing for a divorce shortly after we got the
building and we ended up litigating the ownership of it

(46:42):
for about a year and a half.

Speaker 1 (46:46):
Yeah, no, I know that was tough.

Speaker 2 (46:48):
I'm so connected to that space because I really fought
for it. It went through a court receivership while the
judge was trying to decide who was going to get
it civil law. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (46:57):
Ultimately, Now did your sisters give you a little bit
hell for that?

Speaker 2 (47:02):
I think I'm still paying for it. That's why I'm
so dedicated. Yeah, they put their life savings into buying
this amazing so they were shook.

Speaker 1 (47:09):
Absolutely, See absolutely, I think there is trauma. I'm gonna
take it back to the single momhood because even though
I am married. Yeah, this is horrible to admit, and
you know, but I always think about if divorce happens,
Like I owned the property before I bought I got married.
People always ask me, are you're gonna sell itry? Absolutely not,

(47:31):
And because once you sell, it becomes communal. And in
the back of my mind, I know, as messed up
as it is, like, oh I can get we can
get gold together on some things. But in the back
of my mind, whatever was a communal is safe, you know,
or whatever. And if I were to do something with
my family, I'd be like, look, man, we're gonna have

(47:52):
to have a promisary. Note that thing is going on
the yo ning seriously, you know what I'm.

Speaker 2 (47:56):
Saying, seriously. So that was my mistake. My mistake was
not understanding you know you. I didn't. I never thought
I would get divorced, but I never thought like divorce
was so nasty and messy, and when emotions and money
and four point five million dollar property is involved, the
guns come out. So we have to deal with a

(48:18):
lot to get it.

Speaker 1 (48:19):
I was having a discussion with my dad and shout
out to my dad. He just started a company called
La County Politics dot com, all right, and he was
gonna let one of his employees create the one of
the Facebook pages. I was like, absolutely not, absolutely not,
absolutely not. He was like, oh, but she's such a
good work. I said, yeah, but you don't know how
people battle. When I have a girlfriend who told me

(48:43):
that when she dates, she's a public record. She says
people that have been divorced are the greatest to date
because you need to look at how they handled and
treated their spouse in a divorce.

Speaker 2 (48:52):
That's so true.

Speaker 1 (48:53):
And I was like, Yo, you need to screen on
all my lovers in the future. But the truth of
the MATTERSS, you can't predict them. You can't predict anything
like that.

Speaker 2 (49:01):
I never imagined in a million years of things that
I went through my divorce I would go through, right.
I never, I've never guessed it.

Speaker 1 (49:09):
But that's where I think for me, the trauma's there.
It's a real thing. Yeah, even here in this store,
I'd be like, you know what, in future, this business
is going under such and such as name you know,
because you're right, damn that's crazy.

Speaker 2 (49:23):
Quick claim, quit claim deeds, all of that. If you
buy a property, like you have to be mindful the
person you divorced is not the person you married. I
remember my attorney would tell me that.

Speaker 1 (49:34):
I would be like, why is he doing this?

Speaker 2 (49:35):
He would never She's like, he's not the guy you married.
Stop thinking, yeah that he's that guy. He's not that
guy anymore. And so when I came to terms with that,
then I just like accepted that I'm in a battle,
right Like I'm in a fight.

Speaker 1 (49:49):
Is what it is. And you, guys, at this point
you have to break communication like opposing sides, right.

Speaker 2 (49:55):
Tell the attorney we're not even communicating at this point.
We still don't really communicy in this.

Speaker 1 (50:00):
But yeah, because that's years, you know, that's a whole relationship.
That's a I don't I can't imagine how tough it is.
But like I said, I think the greatest teacher of
all time, it will be the single parent error because
after that.

Speaker 2 (50:11):
You And that's how I got through my divorce because
I reminded myself you've done this by yourself before, so
don't think you can't do this by yourself.

Speaker 1 (50:19):
And this person played a pivotal role in also believing
in you. So that's got to be a tough one too.

Speaker 2 (50:24):
Exactly.

Speaker 1 (50:25):
So a day in the life of Savoy now I
already know, Hypair. I kind of get a core of
your who you are as far as your integrity when
it comes to legacy and branding and respecting these brands.
I see your passion and your love for that, and
I love that for you, even though integrity where you
turn down to check it's crazy. I love that not
too many you've been a business for yourself for over

(50:45):
ten years, you haven't worked for someone officially, and over
probably of say twenty.

Speaker 2 (50:51):
Let's see, it hasn't been maybe fifteen years.

Speaker 1 (50:55):
Okay, that's great, Okay, and then you survive the pandemic.
Mm hmmm, because let me tell you something, d the pandemic.
I took a little job. I went for a startup.
Murdered it. By the way, I love it, but I
had to. I had to get on that knee. And
COVID was a humbling reminder that all my eggs can't

(51:16):
be in one basket. I was like, man, my company's
killing it, and COVID this seconds all right. So with
that being said, now we get into the savoy and
a divorce in the middle of savoy.

Speaker 2 (51:30):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, And I'm still got to be a mom, right,
got three kids?

Speaker 1 (51:33):
You got three You have two kids together, and you
guys aren't talking. But now you're remarried. Shout outs to
you are a gags.

Speaker 2 (51:42):
The fact that I even got remarried it was crazy
after everything I went through. But yeah, yeah, I have
an amazing husband, super dope. He's at the building now
making sure an event we're doing is going the way.

Speaker 1 (51:54):
Okay, I love that. So it's like a partnership thing,
right or died.

Speaker 2 (51:57):
Yeah, you signed that paperwork though, like prenup all of
it whatever. No people tell you to sign sign it
m hm, because I can never go through that again.

Speaker 1 (52:07):
Yeah, and that's smart, that's smart. I love that for you, Okay,
I love that for you. I have so much respect
and admiration for you right now. Okay, So okay, tell
me a day in the life of running the Savoy.

Speaker 2 (52:19):
Oh okay.

Speaker 1 (52:21):
So you don't get to actually eat on the show.
You get to nibble.

Speaker 2 (52:24):
I know. I'm learning that because I want to like
dig in. You're right, it's not that bad. And I'm
actually hungry too, really good, okayod this is what I needed.
A day in the life of the Savoy or me
of no of you in the Savoy Okay, got it.
So usually starts okay, usually it starts off with walkthroughs.
That's how we start our day because we're always selling

(52:46):
the space. So even if we just open the doors
and just three people walk through that day, that's a success.
So it's usually getting there early, making sure the cleaning
who did their job, making sure our walkthroughs are scheduled,
doing our walkthroughs, making sure we allow up with people,
have then walk throughs earlier in the week, secure those dates,
adding dates to our master calendar. And then we have
a restaurant there. So then there's a whole operation of

(53:09):
restaurant depot, alcohol distributors, this and that and that's going on.
So I'm managing that and sometimes I am at restaurant
depot getting what we need.

Speaker 1 (53:16):
But smart cool that means you're just riding it out,
doing whatever you gotta.

Speaker 2 (53:20):
Do, whatever I gotta do. And then we go into
lunch service, then we going to dinner service, and I
say probably four days out the week we have a
private event. So just making sure the client has four.

Speaker 1 (53:29):
Days out of a week, that's great. That's really great
for you guys.

Speaker 2 (53:32):
Like today we have two events. We have a repass
during the day and then we have a private birthday
party tonight. So just doing it nice scheduling.

Speaker 1 (53:40):
Now, now, with all these businesses you have going on,
I just want a small recap of an actual Okay,
I wake up at six, What does this routine look
like on an average day? Don't give me a lounger.

Speaker 2 (53:50):
Day, got it? Sure doesn't happen you know, my lounger
day is Monday, Okay, cool, So when everybody's starting their week,
I'm like chilling because the Savoy is closed and my
beauty so apply stores. That's like our slow day. So
Monday is my day off. Okay. But yeah, on an
average day, I get up at like five am. I
don't get out of bed, but I'm up. I'm responding
to emails for hype Pair because a lot of our

(54:11):
ad partners are on the East Coast, so I want
to match their response time. So checking in with my
team for Hypeaer who are in Atlanta. Usually I'm up
in out the house around like eight thirty nine o'clock
and then we go right into Savoy mode, right into
checking on the store.

Speaker 1 (54:27):
How do the kids get routed there?

Speaker 2 (54:30):
So the kids are with their dad a lot of times.
That's a whole nother story. My ex husband is Middle
Eastern and in their culture, when you divorce, I think
in the black culture, when you divorce, you like it's
just known, you go with your mama. It's not that way.
So I have a lot of what's the word, I
don't want to say, free time, but I have a
lot of discretionary time when it comes to my kids.

(54:51):
And then my oldest is twenty one, she's an adult.
So the kids, you're not managing like a day to day,
not all of their schedules at routine like their dad
does a lot of that. Today I have them, but
it's not until the afternoon until the evening, so I'm
able to do my thing and do my work thing and.

Speaker 1 (55:09):
It's kind of cool though it is to be honest,
because it's like a balance versus it is.

Speaker 2 (55:15):
But it isn't right. So part of it is like
when you divorce, you have to create a new normal
for your children, and I just feel like my ex
husband and I we haven't gotten to that place and
so we kind of just have to do what we
got to do to get through it. But it's not
ideal for me as a parent, But I accept that
that's just the place that I'm in and that's who
I'm married, and.

Speaker 1 (55:32):
That's yeah, okay, what can you do? Okay, that makes sense.
So you go to the Savoy and say you start
your day at nine thirty nine, you leave the house
and then you go to the Savoy.

Speaker 2 (55:43):
Yep, And then I'm there. I'm doing the walkthroughs I'm
making sure it's clean, I'm getting us ready for lunch service,
and then usually I'm able to brand shop during the
day and then go check on the retail stores, going
to the distributors, making sure we're fully stocked, scheduling, payroll,
all the things, business, whatever comes up that day, go
to the city.

Speaker 1 (56:01):
Whatever that is.

Speaker 2 (56:02):
And then I usually take a break during the middle
of my day, go home, regroup because usually I start
off my dance sweatpants and a hoodie. I like to
go back to this avoid looking like the owner, so
I'll usually transition arriving correct.

Speaker 1 (56:16):
Correct, I love that.

Speaker 2 (56:17):
Okay, So my break is during the middle of the day,
I go home, get ready for my evening, and then
I'm there all night like there, it was there till
midnight last night, Jesus. We had a comedy show.

Speaker 1 (56:28):
Comedy shows, yeah, yeah, And then where can everybody see
the schedules of everything you have going on?

Speaker 2 (56:32):
For Instagram, we post when we have events. So it's
free events space on Instagram and.

Speaker 1 (56:36):
Free event space on Instagram. Okay, no dots, no dat,
free event space, not la, just free events okay, free
event space.

Speaker 2 (56:48):
So that's that, and then I'm into event mode or
whatever comedy show mode.

Speaker 1 (56:53):
Or now your sisters were involved in the Savoy, So
how does that work? Do they do dai to day operations?

Speaker 2 (57:00):
So they're very focused on their wine bar ten ten,
which is booming right now. I'm so proud of what
they've created. So the operations really falls on you.

Speaker 1 (57:09):
Oh got it all right? All right? Yeah?

Speaker 2 (57:14):
Girls, okay, exactly.

Speaker 1 (57:15):
Well, thank you so much for feeding me today, diving
extremely deep. I know I was all up in your business. No,
it's good though.

Speaker 2 (57:25):
I needed this need. I needed a break, I needed
a conversation, I needed some nerves moves.

Speaker 1 (57:30):
And when you look back and reflect on it all,
would you do it all over again?

Speaker 2 (57:33):
Yes, but not in the same way. Not in the
same way, for sure. Not in the same way. I
would be more trusting of myself. I would be less
trusting of other people. I would definitely have gotten a
prenup because it'spent a lot of time fixing things. So yeah,
I would absolutely do it again, just in a different way.

Speaker 1 (57:50):
Got it? And that would be the advice you give
to your younger self.

Speaker 2 (57:54):
Absolutely, girl, get an attorney, Get an attorney, get a
business coach, get all those you're gonna end up paying
for it anyways, I don't wanna spend that money. You're
gonna end up paying for it if you don't do
it the right way the first time. You're gonna pay
you in some way down the line.

Speaker 1 (58:13):
But all right, thank you guys for tuning in. Keep
up with everything, Leah how I'm on social media.

Speaker 2 (58:20):
I'm super active on social media. I'm on Instagram, Leah
l I A B d I A s on Instagram
and Facebook li b liah b ds my name.

Speaker 1 (58:29):
On Instagram Facebook.

Speaker 2 (58:30):
No underscores, no underscore, just L I A B my
middle initial d I A S.

Speaker 1 (58:36):
All Right, you heard it here first, guys, and free
to reach out to us or her on Instagram.

Speaker 2 (58:42):
There, Thank you, Thank you.

Speaker 1 (58:44):
This was a bye all right, Thanks guys for tuning in.
Peace out for more eating while broke from iHeartRadio and
The Black Effect, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
wherever you listen to your Fabi Rick shows