September 15, 2023 • 30 mins
In this insightful episode, entrepreneur Vanessa Simmons delves into her journey of creating the wellness brand U4IA and the importance of finding inner peace and self-optimization. She shares valuable lessons learned from her entrepreneurial journey, including navigating business failures and the resilience required to bounce back. Vanessa also provides valuable insights into balancing the roles of motherhood and entrepreneurship, empowering mothers to nurture the next generation of entrepreneurs.
Host IG:@itstanyatime
Guest IG: @vanessajsimmons
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
But I was scared. I was twenty five. I was fearful.
Oh my god, I don't I don't want anyone to
think about this ever again. But that is when you
fail as an entrepreneur, when you don't pick yourself back
up and you don't keep going.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
You're listening to Money Moves powered by Greenwood, a finance
podcast dedicated to dropping all the knowledge and gems from
the world's leading celebrities, entrepreneurs and experts, and tech, business
and more. I'm your host, angel investor, technology enthusiast, and
media personality Tanya Sam. Each week, we talk with guests
who are making significant strides in their fields and learn
(00:34):
how they are making their money move. If you're someone
who's looking to make your money move, you're in the
right place. So open up your notes app and lock
us in, because this podcast will give you the keys
to the kingdom of financial stability, wealth and abundance you
so rightly deserve. Before we start the episode, I'd like
to remind you to check us out at gogreenwood dot
com and follow us on social media at Greenwood and
(00:57):
me on all Things social at It's Tanya. Time to
stay locked into new episode. I want to touch on
motherhood too, because I think it's always something special when
you just have these incredible mothers that are inspiring their
kids by being entrepreneurs and building all sorts of things.
But let's go back a little bit more into your
(01:20):
entrepreneurship journey, because this is something that I think is
really beautiful. And you also founded a health and wellness
brand that sort of came out of the pandemic. So
tell us a little bit about euphoria. Euphoria Did I
say it right? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Area, Yeah, no, Yeah, it's it's pronounced euphoria, but it's
you four. I a you know, like I said, I
am a big imagination and wanting to have fun with
you know, my marketing always, and so Euphoria was definitely birth.
During the twenty twenty lockdown, I feel like there was
a lot of fear floating around, and we learned that
(01:55):
health is the biggest currency that there was, and I
started doing a lot of research. I started gathering tips
of how I could live my best life while we're
locked down because we didn't know what was next, we
didn't know what was going on, and I started I
started gathering all this information that I was sharing with
my close family and friends of things we can do
(02:16):
to just be extra healthy, extra in a good mindset,
mental space, all of that. During the time, and as
I was gathering this stuff, I was just felt like,
you know, I have a huge platform, and I wanted
to really highlight wellness and bring this type of information
to the forefront kind of lending resources and these different
(02:39):
techniques and information I was finding and putting a highlight
on it. I wanted to really create a community for
people to be able to come and make wellness accessible,
not just some sort of like fag, but truly accessible,
and that is what euphoria is built on. And I
just want to create a community where I can share tips, tricks, products,
(03:04):
resources for mental health and therapy and different things we
can do to live our most euphoric life. So I'm
excited about it. I plan on touring and you know,
really highlighting maybe in each city the best wellness places
and practices and businesses that each city has to offer,
(03:25):
and really making wellness cool, because I mean, living longer
is definitely cool.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
So living longer is definitely cool. And you know, I
feel like that certainly resonates with me because the pandemic
was crazy. I mean, you know, sometimes we look back
and we were watching our groceries, like watching the news
and numbers of death, like it was a really heavy
time for people. Like it was really crazy, and you know,
(03:51):
I look back at it now, probably similar to you
and some of the platforms that you're on. That the
silver lining is I think a lot of us got
to had to were forced to really unplug and really
look at how everything from wellness, mental health, and mindset,
all the little tips and tricks that we could get
to live our best lives in this really crazy time.
So what are some of the things that you really
(04:15):
used or dived into techniques that were really helpful to
in your wellness journey.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
Well, the important there's so many important things, but I
think the importance of keeping a good mindset. I had
some friends who didn't have families to quarantine with and
they were on their own, and so you know, I'd
have to lend the best advice I feel like I
could give them, and you know, take the time to
talk to them. Definitely, meditation, prayer, journaling, you name it.
(04:47):
Deep breathing, actual breathing. Most of the time we're shallow
breathing is what people don't realize. And if you really
take the time to belly breathe, you can rejuvenate your
nervous system. And the nervous system is what's running us
every single day, and if it's overworked, it's stressed out,
we cannot function in a proper way. So I really
(05:08):
learned the importance of what true meditation look like, not
just to get like, oh, manifesting you know, money or
material things, but manifesting actual peace. And I was really
able to share that with a lot of my friends.
Like I said, friends, I didn't have family to be
quarantined with, and the importance of having a solid community
(05:29):
and you may not there may be people out there
that don't have actual families, but really creating your own
family through people that you can trust. It's important to
have people you can trust, you can vent to and
know it's not going to go anywhere else. So like,
just really honing in on finding the peace within is
a really good important part of you know, lowering your
(05:52):
cortosol levels, which is working with your nervous system to
create your best possible existence. So these are all I
really want to share and above and beyond, like you know,
teas and and massages and things you can do at
home for yourself that could, you know, lead to a
better life every day.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
And I mean this is what I love about euphoria
as well, because I feel like, you know, we everyone's
already had this baseline of self care. Oh I'm gonna
have a glass of wine at the end of the day,
or maybe I'll go for a massage, but like actually
doing the work to get to that next level where
you're where you're focused on, like regulating your nervous system,
deep breathing, the breath work, and just meditation. It is.
(06:33):
Those have been some like really life changing tools for
me that I credit to the pandemic. And it's funny,
I think, you know, the more and more we talk
about these as just everyday measures of life, you know,
through your community or the platform, I just think, like
we are, it's just life changing for so many people.
But oftentimes I think people shy away from it. They're like, oh,
(06:53):
that's so woo woo, I'm not into that stuff. And
I was like, give it a chance, Like.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
It's so life life like the importance of your gut
and your mental Like your gut health is connected to
your mental health. And it's just our body is meant
to work all together, and people really need to understand
the importance of that. It's not just speaking, it's it's
it's actual science behind it.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
Yeah. Well, I'm definitely gonna look forward if you take
this on the road. I think there's you know, please
come to Atlanta. There's a lot of people who would
really benefit from this from the community you're building and
just love to attend some of you know, the seminars
or whatever you're whatever you're offering, we're there, so definitely
keep us abreast of that for sure.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
I would love to visit Atlanta definitely.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
Yeah. Okay, so let's move on because now you know,
you've started shoe companies, you're into the health and wellness
space that all, but you're also like a very positive
social influencer, and I think a lot of people in
our community are also looking for, you know, ways they
can engage with brands. They've seen some of you know,
your hair partnerships and collaborations. You recently did a collaboration
(08:02):
with butter Skin for a very big campaign for sacks.
How do you approach these partnerships and collaborations so that
they align with you know you, Vanessa Simmons and your
brand and your values.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
I'd say that whenever I'm getting involved with a brand,
I make sure that the brand is representing in an
alignment with things that I want to represent. And with Butta,
it was a no brainer. You know, I actually use
the products. Number one, they are amazing. And I've been
a skincare girly for a very long time and you
(08:39):
don't see things on the shelves that are made for
melanated skin. And I've been I've been on these shelves
for a long times, and the Saphores and the Ultas
and all those places and buying things, and you don't
see things that are made for melanated skin. So when
Dorian came to me, who also happens to be a
really good friend of mine, he's the founder of Butta,
and said hey, could you do this for me?
Speaker 2 (09:00):
Was like honored.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
I was like yes, First of all, your products work.
Second of all, everything that Butter stands for I want
to represent and it's making people feel good, and it's
targeted for skin for people that look like me, girls
and men who look like me that are melanated and
actually for everyone. But to know that the products are
(09:21):
targeted towards us and they're going to do our skin
good and make us feel good. That is something that
I want to be behind. And with any brand I
work with, I try to make sure that I align
with their values and what they represents as much as
I can. So it's a blessing to be able to
have a platform that I do and to be able
to work with brands. So it's important for me to
(09:44):
make sure that I align with exactly what they're representing.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
Oh yeah, I am a huge fan of butter skincare actually,
and Duran isn't so credible. And I do think there's
something very you know, special about that. You're right, like
you've been on shelves, you've been in this business. So
now that you know, you have all these brands that
are dedicated to black skin, that are dedicated to melanated pigment,
blackground whatever. And of course when we say this, anybody
(10:09):
can use the products, but it's just it is really
a special thing that it's like actually looking at our
tissue structure on a molecular level and making sure that
we can have the best glow because I need this
block to.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
Not crack don't need it to crack.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
Exactly, exactly absolutely, I'm going to move a little bit
away from skincare right now and we're going to go
on the tech side because you've seen sort of an
evolution of like you've been making products.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
We talked a little bit about how you had all
this marketing success that was really you know, grassroots, and
now we're in the a little bit of a world
where it's very social media forward, very influent, influencer driven.
How have you seen technology sort of like play a
role in the evolution of your businesses? And do you
like this or do you you know, do you really
(10:57):
want to go back to the old days of like marketing?
Speaker 1 (11:00):
Know what, I love the old days. I love the
gorilla style marketing we were able to do. But as
an entrepreneur, you have to be able to move with
the times, even if it's a little bit scary. And
so technology is something that we can avoid. It is
growing at a rapid pace. We have the introduction of
AI and all of these other crazy things. Yes, and
(11:21):
so we have to be able to move with the
flow of what is going on. So that's a part
of being an entrepreneur. So you've got to make it
work for you. You know, social media is a blessing
and a curse. You know, there are a lot of
cons to it, but there are also a lot of
pros to being able to have direct access to your
(11:41):
consumer at the snap of a press send on a post,
and so you have to make it work for you. You
got to do the research to stay relevant and know
exactly what your customer wants. And it's a blessing to
be able to do that through technology and to be
able to research so many different things so quickly. So
you have to be able to make it work for you.
(12:03):
And you know what, I'm not mad at it. It's
amazing that I'm able to exist in this time where
I've seen the evolution of having to do gorilla style
marketing to having the access to my customer, you know,
within seconds. It's incredible, and you got to evolve with it.
That's all A part about of being an entrepreneur is
(12:24):
moving with the waves, moving with how everything is changing,
no matter how challenging it may be. You got to
stay on the pulse of what's hot and what's going on.
And so it's a blessing and a curse, you know,
there's a sound side.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
Really a blessing and a curse.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
But I love that you said that.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
It's like entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is absolutely about being able to
like be agile, move with the waves, and it's you know,
oftentimes people look and they'll be like, oh, well they
had it easy. They just built this business, and we
forget like there are days being an entrepreneur, you know,
you're a mom as well, where you're just like, I
like the expression it's either I'm killing it or it's
(13:03):
killing me. I'm killing it, or it's me right about
some of those Like I hate to dig up the
top memory some of those times where you were just
incredibly challenged about entrepreneurship. Can you remember some of those
like significant obstacles or have you just buried them away
and you're like, I.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
Can't, Yeah, them both both. I bury them away, but
I have to. I have to kind of keep them
at the top of my mind so that I don't
make the same mistakes. Challenges are the name of the
game when you are an entrepreneur. And as Pastry was
growing and we were coming to a time where me
and my sister were really starting to pivot and grow up.
(13:41):
I wanted to start a lingerie business. There was a
lot of money to be made in lingerie, billion dollar business,
and I was like, okay, I want to get involved.
I want to do this. So I went head in.
You know, I've been successful in fashion. I can do this.
This is this is going to be so easy. I'm
going to be making millions of dollars in matter of
a few years. So I went head first into building
(14:03):
this business. And the problem with my structure is when
you don't have a team who was knowledgeable of the
field you're going into or has had previous success in it,
it's gonna be bound to maybe fail. And so got involved.
I had some people on your team. Your team is
so important. It's so important when you're building something. It's everything.
(14:25):
And that's what happened. It failed, and you know, instead
of picking up the pieces off the floor after it
didn't do so well, I dropped it all and I
ran and I did not look back, And looking back
in retrospect, I feel like that's one of my biggest
regrets because as an entrepreneur, you have to be able
to pick yourself up and reconstruct the pieces, no matter
(14:49):
how hard, no matter how embarrassing because this was incredibly embarrassing.
I had this huge, successful brand and now I started
this company. I had press going on around it, and
it wasn't the Z I had a fast show. It
just all the pieces were busting at the seam and
I wanted nothing to do with it. So I left
it on the ground and I never looked back. And
(15:10):
looking back, I now know, as an older woman and
a more seasoned entrepreneur, I should have picked up those pieces.
I should have kept going.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
I should have.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
Brought more people onto the team, and I should have
kept rocking with it. And instead I left it there
and I never looked back. And that's one of my
biggest regrets looking back, like I really could have made something.
I see so many people, you know, throwing right now
in the lingerie business, you know the skims and the
you know, the fency and all that stuff, and I
(15:39):
was like, you know what, that could have been me
if I just got over the embarrassment of the initial fall,
picked the right team and kept going. But I was scared.
I was twenty five. I was fearful. Oh my god,
I don't want anyone to think about this ever again.
But that is when you fail as an entrepreneur when
you don't pick yourself back up and you don't keep going,
(16:01):
And that will always serve as a lesson to me
if you don't. No, no, we don't just drop stuff
and leave it.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
You know.
Speaker 1 (16:08):
I pee is valuable. I had an LLC. Yeah, everything going,
you know, and I just left it there. And I
should have picked the pieces up and kept going. And
so any up and coming entrepreneur, if you come up
against a challenge like this, I would just suggest pick
yourself back up, maybe take a week or two to
like cry it out or do whatever you got to
do to release that energy. But you keep yourself back up,
(16:31):
you keep going and you never know where it could
take you. But it won't take you anywhere if you
leave it there. And that's what happened to you, Limail.
That is one of my most painful memories. But but
at least I can share the experience. Yeah, yeah, I
would want to come up.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
It's so hard to and I like, I honest, I
feel your pain. I know that it's hard to like
look back at those things and have regret or maybe
I would have done it. But it's also my heart
goes after you as like a young twenty and you were,
you know, twenty five at the time, but also like
a very grown twenty five because you've done a lot
and I understand, Like, I think a lot of the
biggest challenges that entrepreneurs have is like fear, right, this
(17:12):
fear mindset, fear failure, and I think oftentimes that holds
people back all the time. I always said that for me,
you know, it was it's like done is better than perfect,
and my biggest achilles heels, I want everything to be perfect,
and you know it delays you because oftentimes, like, yes,
the things are bursting at the seams, but you'll get
(17:32):
it right the next time, right. And I think maybe
it was like Steve Jobs that talked about that, like
when he first released his first product, it was horrible,
it was buggy, you know, the you know, your boob's
falling out of your bra, but you know that you'll
fix it better the next time.
Speaker 1 (17:46):
Imagine if Steve Job stopped, you know, like right, yeah, imagine,
so you got to you gotta keep going, You got
to improve the structure, and you got to keep going.
That there's a better story in that when you do
have the challenges and you do have to failures is
a better story in the long run when you look
at it that way.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
Absolutely, and thank you for sharing that, because oftentimes people
look at you know, successful people and they're be like, well,
they didn't have any problems, or you know, they every hit,
they every big hit they took was a home run,
and that's just never the case. It's just sometimes it's
harder to share those things. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
Absolutely, we want everyone to see how highlight real exactly.
That's the thing we want all our successes, but that's
not what makes a full success story. You got to
have some of the failures.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
Very true. Okay, So, Vanessa, in addition to being an entrepreneur,
you're also a devoted mother. And you know, I love
when we have women on the podcast because I think,
you know, these are stories that are also a lot
of our money movers are mothers, right, and they're figuring
out how to balance everything. The quintessential question, you know,
how do you balance everything as a mom? And I
stopped asking that because I was like, I don't even
(18:50):
know what balance looks like half the time. But I
want to talk about your journey through motherhood and entrepreneurship
because I think there's something in it that's always motivating
to people that are listening on the other on the
other side of the waves here. So, what advice would
you give to mothers who are looking to start their
own business, that want to branch out and sort of
(19:11):
start working on their dream businesses and building something big
for their families.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
Don't be intimidated by it. A lot of women they
start families, they start having babies, and they feel like
their goals and dreams have to be put aside, and
you know that they had to get it done before
they started their family. This isn't true. You know, moving
into motherhood is a whole other way to be inspired.
It's a whole new chapter in life. And it's it's doable.
(19:41):
You know, we're in a time right now where women
we are learning that our superpowers. We are truly super humans.
We can have babies, we can have businesses, we can
be successful partners, we can manage the household. We can
do it all. But we can only do it all
if we manage our time proper.
Speaker 2 (19:59):
Lead.
Speaker 1 (19:59):
Okay, I really want to express the importance of creating
a schedule for yourself. If you're gonna balance so many things,
make sure that you're creating a schedule, you're staying organized.
I find on days when I don't journal the night
before and I don't create a schedule for myself, my
day is chaotic because it's all over the place. I'm
(20:20):
trying to keep it all in my mind, and there's
no one in the world who can keep all that
information in your mind. You need to jot it down.
You need to create a schedule. You need to create boundaries.
I'm coming out of a people pleasing season right now
where I have to really create boundaries and stick to
them and not be afraid to say no. Sometimes the
(20:41):
answer is just no, it's not going to serve me
at this time. I can't do it. I'm gonna overwhelm myself.
And if I'm an overwhelmed mommy, my life's going to
be overwhelmed. Everything's gonna feel chaotic, and everything's just going
to feel like it's not working out. So the biggest
piece of ice I can do it is you can
do it, but just make sure you are staying organized.
(21:02):
You are creating a schedule for yourself, a small to
do list. You know, Rome was not built in a day.
You have to just take and be comfortable with taking
the small steps every single day to achieve your goals
literature reading, Making sure that you have a blueprint of
some sort to follow for your day to day, and
you will see success. It may take a little longer
(21:24):
because your plate is a little bit more full, but
it is not a deterring factor of whether or not
you can be successful in it. You know, you just
have to build it day by day. Build that schedule
every single day before you go to bed. It's good
for your mind too. It's one of those things that
build a healthy mindset.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
So much in that like and you know, sometimes just
recognize it. It might take you longer, but you will
still get there. And the scheduling thing for me, I
don't have kids. I'm a very active auntie, but the
scheduling piece is everything, and I like that, just like
a journal, you put your schedule so that by the
time you wake up up and hit the ground money,
as moms do, you're like, I know what I have
(22:03):
to get done today.
Speaker 1 (22:04):
And you can just go check check and you stay
on course. Got to start dinner by six, okay, so
I got to be wrapped up by this time with
this fat and the third like keep yourself organized. It
plays a big part in success, for sure.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
I want to also, you know, hearing you say like, hey,
I'm ending, I'm leaving a people pleasing season and no
means no, and I think you know that encompasses so
much like can you bake fifty cupcakes for daycare? And
the answer just might be no, I cannot.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
Yeah, and you have that little bit of guilt because
you want to. You want to be like Jill's mommy,
who brings everything and she's perfect, but she's dealing with
her own stuff that you don't even know what she's
dealing with, and that's her thing that she's doing. But
I cannot make fifty cupcakes on the drop of a dime.
I'm sorry. I'll be able to buy them, you know,
maybe maybe not. But sometimes the answer is just I
(22:53):
can't make it happen. And you can't feel naughty about that.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
No.
Speaker 2 (22:59):
And I'm getting so much better at that too, because
I feel like it was an evolution because for me,
the biggest thing would be actually to say no, and
then I'd spend five minutes explaining why I couldn't do
it because I felt so bad. Now, like new Tan,
you will be like no, and inside I still feel bad,
but I'm like, Okay, it's okay. You were allowed to
(23:19):
say no.
Speaker 1 (23:21):
Yeah, you don't have to run down your excuse list
and it just adds too much. No, I'm sorry, Yes.
Speaker 2 (23:28):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (23:29):
So you talked a little bit about this with euphoria,
But what are some of the resources or support systems
that you've had that have really helped you to sort
of balance motherhood and entrepreneurship, Like who are the is
it people? Is it you know, business people, lawyers? Like
who is it that makes your team really work?
Speaker 1 (23:48):
Honestly, because I do so many different things. There's motherhood,
there's entrepreneurship, there's the acting and all of that. My
mom's I'm very blessed that I come from a blended
fan family and you know, my mom is incredible. And
then I also have a stepmother, Justine, who you guys
were introduced to on Runs House, and I'm able to
(24:09):
go to them for anything. I think the importance of
a solid community is really important. And then also picking
a mentor in the field that you're in is also
an important thing. Having someone you can run to that
may have been to where you envision yourself being with
just anything, someone that you can truly trust, who you
(24:30):
don't feel like you're you know, inconvenience and coming to
with your problem. So you discuss if they're interested in
being your mentor having a mentor very very important to
help you stay on track and you know, bounce your
ideas off of. And then also for resources reading. Right now,
I'm reading a book called One Audible. It's called The
(24:52):
Emotional Emotional well Being for Black Women, and it's just
helping me to manage my well being daily so I'm
not overwhelmed, so that I can show up my best self.
So picking some piece of literature that will really help you.
It's amazing to me now that I've gotten older, how
much the self care section of the store and when
(25:16):
I do go to a bookstore or the audible section
is my best friend. Like there'll always be something that
can just help me, even if it's before I remember,
I was reading a book called Mastering the Art of
Small Talk because I was having a hard time with
just like a small talk, like feeling like every conversation
had to be this big, drawn out, you know, intellectual conversation.
(25:39):
It doesn't. Sometimes we can just pick each other up
through small talk. So the resources are definitely my community
and then being able to fill myself up with some
sort of like book or something that's going to make
me better mentally.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
Yeah. I have always been a big book geek and
have a really lit book club, as I like to say, so,
I'm always looking for good books. And you know, it's funny.
I yeah, I tell people like audible, it's it's audible
is reading. Oftentimes people will be like, yeah, you know,
kind of quietly go it's inaudible. But this is how
(26:14):
you fit, you know, thirty six hours into a twenty
four hour day, you're driving, you're listening to an audible,
you're filling your cup up. You know, whether it's like
something fun that allows you to escape, or you're getting
something really tangible for your soul. I love that, So
I will certainly check out that book. Okay, well, Vanessa,
you've been so so inspiring. I want to know what's
coming up next for you. What can you tease us with?
(26:36):
What should we pay attention that's coming out for you soon?
Speaker 1 (26:41):
Building euphoria. I'm really excited about building the community and
just making wellness interesting and impactful as I can get
people talking and interested in how they could, you know,
improve their lives in some sort of way. And acting.
I'm going to be a age play coming up. You know,
(27:01):
with the strikes and things, we have to find other
ways to really get into our crafts. And I am
gonna be doing a stage play called Rotten Apple about
the struggle of African Americans in the sixties to you know,
strive for the American dream. So I'm really really excited.
(27:23):
That's gonna be in September in Maryland, one weekend in
Maryland and one weekend in North Carolina. So I'm extremely
excited about that. And you know, just gonna do my
best and forget the rest like my dad said, and
do the best I can to show up every day
and hope and dream that I could just empower and
inspire people. So that is the goal and the dream
(27:45):
for the next what's next for me?
Speaker 2 (27:49):
First of all, I love that do your best and
forget the rest. And wow, I love that you're getting
back to stage. That's super exciting and we will definitely
check out for any time you it comes to your
town or wherever people are so they make sure that
they can tune in can you tell us where they
can follow you on social media so they can stay
abreast of all these amazing developments.
Speaker 1 (28:11):
Yes, you can follow me on Instagram at Vanessa Jasimmons
and you can follow Euphoria at you four ia now
and we have our website dropping pretty soon, so I
am excited about that. It is also euphorianow dot com.
So I'm really excited about all of that. Thank you
so much for the support today, and I'm looking forward
(28:34):
to empowering people. That's the goal.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
Vanessa, you are such a gem. Thank you so much
for sharing your light with so many of us and
helping us be well find alignment all of those things
money movers. That is all the time we have for today,
but make sure you follow Vanessa on her social media
platforms so that you can stay abreast of all her
incredible developments. Yes, thank you, tune in next time, Siah.
(29:01):
Thanks for listening to today's episode. If we helped you
make your money move, please share it with your community,
Subscribe and leave us a review on iHeartRadio and Apple podcasts.
Follow us on social media at Greenwood and visit us
at Gogreenwood dot com for more financial tips and remember
money movers. If this were easy, everyone would do it.
So take the lessons you've learned from this episode and
(29:23):
apply it to your life. Here's a sneak peak of
next week's episode.
Speaker 4 (29:28):
And so I tell people a lot when they ask me,
what's that one piece of advice that I would give?
And that is to not believe that failure exists. Because
failure is not failure unless you give up before you succeed.
So I could look at my first PR business and
say that failed, but that's not true. I've built this
(29:48):
entire company on PR.
Speaker 2 (29:51):
Money Moves is an iHeartRadio podcast powered by Greenwood Executive
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visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
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powered by Greenwood, so that you too can have the
keys to financial freedom you so rightly deserve. Until next time,
But I was scared. I was twenty five. I was fearful.
Oh my god, I don't I don't want anyone to
think about this ever again. But that is when you
fail as an entrepreneur, when you don't pick yourself back
up and you don't keep going.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
You're listening to Money Moves powered by Greenwood, a finance
podcast dedicated to dropping all the knowledge and gems from
the world's leading celebrities, entrepreneurs and experts, and tech, business
and more. I'm your host, angel investor, technology enthusiast, and
media personality Tanya Sam. Each week, we talk with guests
who are making significant strides in their fields and learn
(00:34):
how they are making their money move. If you're someone
who's looking to make your money move, you're in the
right place. So open up your notes app and lock
us in, because this podcast will give you the keys
to the kingdom of financial stability, wealth and abundance you
so rightly deserve. Before we start the episode, I'd like
to remind you to check us out at gogreenwood dot
com and follow us on social media at Greenwood and
(00:57):
me on all Things social at It's Tanya. Time to
stay locked into new episode. I want to touch on
motherhood too, because I think it's always something special when
you just have these incredible mothers that are inspiring their
kids by being entrepreneurs and building all sorts of things.
But let's go back a little bit more into your
(01:20):
entrepreneurship journey, because this is something that I think is
really beautiful. And you also founded a health and wellness
brand that sort of came out of the pandemic. So
tell us a little bit about euphoria. Euphoria Did I
say it right? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Area, Yeah, no, Yeah, it's it's pronounced euphoria, but it's
you four. I a you know, like I said, I
am a big imagination and wanting to have fun with
you know, my marketing always, and so Euphoria was definitely birth.
During the twenty twenty lockdown, I feel like there was
a lot of fear floating around, and we learned that
(01:55):
health is the biggest currency that there was, and I
started doing a lot of research. I started gathering tips
of how I could live my best life while we're
locked down because we didn't know what was next, we
didn't know what was going on, and I started I
started gathering all this information that I was sharing with
my close family and friends of things we can do
(02:16):
to just be extra healthy, extra in a good mindset,
mental space, all of that. During the time, and as
I was gathering this stuff, I was just felt like,
you know, I have a huge platform, and I wanted
to really highlight wellness and bring this type of information
to the forefront kind of lending resources and these different
(02:39):
techniques and information I was finding and putting a highlight
on it. I wanted to really create a community for
people to be able to come and make wellness accessible,
not just some sort of like fag, but truly accessible,
and that is what euphoria is built on. And I
just want to create a community where I can share tips, tricks, products,
(03:04):
resources for mental health and therapy and different things we
can do to live our most euphoric life. So I'm
excited about it. I plan on touring and you know,
really highlighting maybe in each city the best wellness places
and practices and businesses that each city has to offer,
(03:25):
and really making wellness cool, because I mean, living longer
is definitely cool.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
So living longer is definitely cool. And you know, I
feel like that certainly resonates with me because the pandemic
was crazy. I mean, you know, sometimes we look back
and we were watching our groceries, like watching the news
and numbers of death, like it was a really heavy
time for people. Like it was really crazy, and you know,
(03:51):
I look back at it now, probably similar to you
and some of the platforms that you're on. That the
silver lining is I think a lot of us got
to had to were forced to really unplug and really
look at how everything from wellness, mental health, and mindset,
all the little tips and tricks that we could get
to live our best lives in this really crazy time.
So what are some of the things that you really
(04:15):
used or dived into techniques that were really helpful to
in your wellness journey.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
Well, the important there's so many important things, but I
think the importance of keeping a good mindset. I had
some friends who didn't have families to quarantine with and
they were on their own, and so you know, I'd
have to lend the best advice I feel like I
could give them, and you know, take the time to
talk to them. Definitely, meditation, prayer, journaling, you name it.
(04:47):
Deep breathing, actual breathing. Most of the time we're shallow
breathing is what people don't realize. And if you really
take the time to belly breathe, you can rejuvenate your
nervous system. And the nervous system is what's running us
every single day, and if it's overworked, it's stressed out,
we cannot function in a proper way. So I really
(05:08):
learned the importance of what true meditation look like, not
just to get like, oh, manifesting you know, money or
material things, but manifesting actual peace. And I was really
able to share that with a lot of my friends.
Like I said, friends, I didn't have family to be
quarantined with, and the importance of having a solid community
(05:29):
and you may not there may be people out there
that don't have actual families, but really creating your own
family through people that you can trust. It's important to
have people you can trust, you can vent to and
know it's not going to go anywhere else. So like,
just really honing in on finding the peace within is
a really good important part of you know, lowering your
(05:52):
cortosol levels, which is working with your nervous system to
create your best possible existence. So these are all I
really want to share and above and beyond, like you know,
teas and and massages and things you can do at
home for yourself that could, you know, lead to a
better life every day.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
And I mean this is what I love about euphoria
as well, because I feel like, you know, we everyone's
already had this baseline of self care. Oh I'm gonna
have a glass of wine at the end of the day,
or maybe I'll go for a massage, but like actually
doing the work to get to that next level where
you're where you're focused on, like regulating your nervous system,
deep breathing, the breath work, and just meditation. It is.
(06:33):
Those have been some like really life changing tools for
me that I credit to the pandemic. And it's funny,
I think, you know, the more and more we talk
about these as just everyday measures of life, you know,
through your community or the platform, I just think, like
we are, it's just life changing for so many people.
But oftentimes I think people shy away from it. They're like, oh,
(06:53):
that's so woo woo, I'm not into that stuff. And
I was like, give it a chance, Like.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
It's so life life like the importance of your gut
and your mental Like your gut health is connected to
your mental health. And it's just our body is meant
to work all together, and people really need to understand
the importance of that. It's not just speaking, it's it's
it's actual science behind it.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
Yeah. Well, I'm definitely gonna look forward if you take
this on the road. I think there's you know, please
come to Atlanta. There's a lot of people who would
really benefit from this from the community you're building and
just love to attend some of you know, the seminars
or whatever you're whatever you're offering, we're there, so definitely
keep us abreast of that for sure.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
I would love to visit Atlanta definitely.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
Yeah. Okay, so let's move on because now you know,
you've started shoe companies, you're into the health and wellness
space that all, but you're also like a very positive
social influencer, and I think a lot of people in
our community are also looking for, you know, ways they
can engage with brands. They've seen some of you know,
your hair partnerships and collaborations. You recently did a collaboration
(08:02):
with butter Skin for a very big campaign for sacks.
How do you approach these partnerships and collaborations so that
they align with you know you, Vanessa Simmons and your
brand and your values.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
I'd say that whenever I'm getting involved with a brand,
I make sure that the brand is representing in an
alignment with things that I want to represent. And with Butta,
it was a no brainer. You know, I actually use
the products. Number one, they are amazing. And I've been
a skincare girly for a very long time and you
(08:39):
don't see things on the shelves that are made for
melanated skin. And I've been I've been on these shelves
for a long times, and the Saphores and the Ultas
and all those places and buying things, and you don't
see things that are made for melanated skin. So when
Dorian came to me, who also happens to be a
really good friend of mine, he's the founder of Butta,
and said hey, could you do this for me?
Speaker 2 (09:00):
Was like honored.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
I was like yes, First of all, your products work.
Second of all, everything that Butter stands for I want
to represent and it's making people feel good, and it's
targeted for skin for people that look like me, girls
and men who look like me that are melanated and
actually for everyone. But to know that the products are
(09:21):
targeted towards us and they're going to do our skin
good and make us feel good. That is something that
I want to be behind. And with any brand I
work with, I try to make sure that I align
with their values and what they represents as much as
I can. So it's a blessing to be able to
have a platform that I do and to be able
to work with brands. So it's important for me to
(09:44):
make sure that I align with exactly what they're representing.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
Oh yeah, I am a huge fan of butter skincare actually,
and Duran isn't so credible. And I do think there's
something very you know, special about that. You're right, like
you've been on shelves, you've been in this business. So
now that you know, you have all these brands that
are dedicated to black skin, that are dedicated to melanated pigment,
blackground whatever. And of course when we say this, anybody
(10:09):
can use the products, but it's just it is really
a special thing that it's like actually looking at our
tissue structure on a molecular level and making sure that
we can have the best glow because I need this
block to.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
Not crack don't need it to crack.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
Exactly, exactly absolutely, I'm going to move a little bit
away from skincare right now and we're going to go
on the tech side because you've seen sort of an
evolution of like you've been making products.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
We talked a little bit about how you had all
this marketing success that was really you know, grassroots, and
now we're in the a little bit of a world
where it's very social media forward, very influent, influencer driven.
How have you seen technology sort of like play a
role in the evolution of your businesses? And do you
like this or do you you know, do you really
(10:57):
want to go back to the old days of like marketing?
Speaker 1 (11:00):
Know what, I love the old days. I love the
gorilla style marketing we were able to do. But as
an entrepreneur, you have to be able to move with
the times, even if it's a little bit scary. And
so technology is something that we can avoid. It is
growing at a rapid pace. We have the introduction of
AI and all of these other crazy things. Yes, and
(11:21):
so we have to be able to move with the
flow of what is going on. So that's a part
of being an entrepreneur. So you've got to make it
work for you. You know, social media is a blessing
and a curse. You know, there are a lot of
cons to it, but there are also a lot of
pros to being able to have direct access to your
(11:41):
consumer at the snap of a press send on a post,
and so you have to make it work for you. You
got to do the research to stay relevant and know
exactly what your customer wants. And it's a blessing to
be able to do that through technology and to be
able to research so many different things so quickly. So
you have to be able to make it work for you.
(12:03):
And you know what, I'm not mad at it. It's
amazing that I'm able to exist in this time where
I've seen the evolution of having to do gorilla style
marketing to having the access to my customer, you know,
within seconds. It's incredible, and you got to evolve with it.
That's all A part about of being an entrepreneur is
(12:24):
moving with the waves, moving with how everything is changing,
no matter how challenging it may be. You got to
stay on the pulse of what's hot and what's going on.
And so it's a blessing and a curse, you know,
there's a sound side.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
Really a blessing and a curse.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
But I love that you said that.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
It's like entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is absolutely about being able to
like be agile, move with the waves, and it's you know,
oftentimes people look and they'll be like, oh, well they
had it easy. They just built this business, and we
forget like there are days being an entrepreneur, you know,
you're a mom as well, where you're just like, I
like the expression it's either I'm killing it or it's
(13:03):
killing me. I'm killing it, or it's me right about
some of those Like I hate to dig up the
top memory some of those times where you were just
incredibly challenged about entrepreneurship. Can you remember some of those
like significant obstacles or have you just buried them away
and you're like, I.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
Can't, Yeah, them both both. I bury them away, but
I have to. I have to kind of keep them
at the top of my mind so that I don't
make the same mistakes. Challenges are the name of the
game when you are an entrepreneur. And as Pastry was
growing and we were coming to a time where me
and my sister were really starting to pivot and grow up.
(13:41):
I wanted to start a lingerie business. There was a
lot of money to be made in lingerie, billion dollar business,
and I was like, okay, I want to get involved.
I want to do this. So I went head in.
You know, I've been successful in fashion. I can do this.
This is this is going to be so easy. I'm
going to be making millions of dollars in matter of
a few years. So I went head first into building
(14:03):
this business. And the problem with my structure is when
you don't have a team who was knowledgeable of the
field you're going into or has had previous success in it,
it's gonna be bound to maybe fail. And so got involved.
I had some people on your team. Your team is
so important. It's so important when you're building something. It's everything.
(14:25):
And that's what happened. It failed, and you know, instead
of picking up the pieces off the floor after it
didn't do so well, I dropped it all and I
ran and I did not look back, And looking back
in retrospect, I feel like that's one of my biggest
regrets because as an entrepreneur, you have to be able
to pick yourself up and reconstruct the pieces, no matter
(14:49):
how hard, no matter how embarrassing because this was incredibly embarrassing.
I had this huge, successful brand and now I started
this company. I had press going on around it, and
it wasn't the Z I had a fast show. It
just all the pieces were busting at the seam and
I wanted nothing to do with it. So I left
it on the ground and I never looked back. And
(15:10):
looking back, I now know, as an older woman and
a more seasoned entrepreneur, I should have picked up those pieces.
I should have kept going.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
I should have.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
Brought more people onto the team, and I should have
kept rocking with it. And instead I left it there
and I never looked back. And that's one of my
biggest regrets looking back, like I really could have made something.
I see so many people, you know, throwing right now
in the lingerie business, you know the skims and the
you know, the fency and all that stuff, and I
(15:39):
was like, you know what, that could have been me
if I just got over the embarrassment of the initial fall,
picked the right team and kept going. But I was scared.
I was twenty five. I was fearful. Oh my god,
I don't want anyone to think about this ever again.
But that is when you fail as an entrepreneur when
you don't pick yourself back up and you don't keep going,
(16:01):
And that will always serve as a lesson to me
if you don't. No, no, we don't just drop stuff
and leave it.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
You know.
Speaker 1 (16:08):
I pee is valuable. I had an LLC. Yeah, everything going,
you know, and I just left it there. And I
should have picked the pieces up and kept going. And
so any up and coming entrepreneur, if you come up
against a challenge like this, I would just suggest pick
yourself back up, maybe take a week or two to
like cry it out or do whatever you got to
do to release that energy. But you keep yourself back up,
(16:31):
you keep going and you never know where it could
take you. But it won't take you anywhere if you
leave it there. And that's what happened to you, Limail.
That is one of my most painful memories. But but
at least I can share the experience. Yeah, yeah, I
would want to come up.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
It's so hard to and I like, I honest, I
feel your pain. I know that it's hard to like
look back at those things and have regret or maybe
I would have done it. But it's also my heart
goes after you as like a young twenty and you were,
you know, twenty five at the time, but also like
a very grown twenty five because you've done a lot
and I understand, Like, I think a lot of the
biggest challenges that entrepreneurs have is like fear, right, this
(17:12):
fear mindset, fear failure, and I think oftentimes that holds
people back all the time. I always said that for me,
you know, it was it's like done is better than perfect,
and my biggest achilles heels, I want everything to be perfect,
and you know it delays you because oftentimes, like, yes,
the things are bursting at the seams, but you'll get
(17:32):
it right the next time, right. And I think maybe
it was like Steve Jobs that talked about that, like
when he first released his first product, it was horrible,
it was buggy, you know, the you know, your boob's
falling out of your bra, but you know that you'll
fix it better the next time.
Speaker 1 (17:46):
Imagine if Steve Job stopped, you know, like right, yeah, imagine,
so you got to you gotta keep going, You got
to improve the structure, and you got to keep going.
That there's a better story in that when you do
have the challenges and you do have to failures is
a better story in the long run when you look
at it that way.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
Absolutely, and thank you for sharing that, because oftentimes people
look at you know, successful people and they're be like, well,
they didn't have any problems, or you know, they every hit,
they every big hit they took was a home run,
and that's just never the case. It's just sometimes it's
harder to share those things. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
Absolutely, we want everyone to see how highlight real exactly.
That's the thing we want all our successes, but that's
not what makes a full success story. You got to
have some of the failures.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
Very true. Okay, So, Vanessa, in addition to being an entrepreneur,
you're also a devoted mother. And you know, I love
when we have women on the podcast because I think,
you know, these are stories that are also a lot
of our money movers are mothers, right, and they're figuring
out how to balance everything. The quintessential question, you know,
how do you balance everything as a mom? And I
stopped asking that because I was like, I don't even
(18:50):
know what balance looks like half the time. But I
want to talk about your journey through motherhood and entrepreneurship
because I think there's something in it that's always motivating
to people that are listening on the other on the
other side of the waves here. So, what advice would
you give to mothers who are looking to start their
own business, that want to branch out and sort of
(19:11):
start working on their dream businesses and building something big
for their families.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
Don't be intimidated by it. A lot of women they
start families, they start having babies, and they feel like
their goals and dreams have to be put aside, and
you know that they had to get it done before
they started their family. This isn't true. You know, moving
into motherhood is a whole other way to be inspired.
It's a whole new chapter in life. And it's it's doable.
(19:41):
You know, we're in a time right now where women
we are learning that our superpowers. We are truly super humans.
We can have babies, we can have businesses, we can
be successful partners, we can manage the household. We can
do it all. But we can only do it all
if we manage our time proper.
Speaker 2 (19:59):
Lead.
Speaker 1 (19:59):
Okay, I really want to express the importance of creating
a schedule for yourself. If you're gonna balance so many things,
make sure that you're creating a schedule, you're staying organized.
I find on days when I don't journal the night
before and I don't create a schedule for myself, my
day is chaotic because it's all over the place. I'm
(20:20):
trying to keep it all in my mind, and there's
no one in the world who can keep all that
information in your mind. You need to jot it down.
You need to create a schedule. You need to create boundaries.
I'm coming out of a people pleasing season right now
where I have to really create boundaries and stick to
them and not be afraid to say no. Sometimes the
(20:41):
answer is just no, it's not going to serve me
at this time. I can't do it. I'm gonna overwhelm myself.
And if I'm an overwhelmed mommy, my life's going to
be overwhelmed. Everything's gonna feel chaotic, and everything's just going
to feel like it's not working out. So the biggest
piece of ice I can do it is you can
do it, but just make sure you are staying organized.
(21:02):
You are creating a schedule for yourself, a small to
do list. You know, Rome was not built in a day.
You have to just take and be comfortable with taking
the small steps every single day to achieve your goals
literature reading, Making sure that you have a blueprint of
some sort to follow for your day to day, and
you will see success. It may take a little longer
(21:24):
because your plate is a little bit more full, but
it is not a deterring factor of whether or not
you can be successful in it. You know, you just
have to build it day by day. Build that schedule
every single day before you go to bed. It's good
for your mind too. It's one of those things that
build a healthy mindset.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
So much in that like and you know, sometimes just
recognize it. It might take you longer, but you will
still get there. And the scheduling thing for me, I
don't have kids. I'm a very active auntie, but the
scheduling piece is everything, and I like that, just like
a journal, you put your schedule so that by the
time you wake up up and hit the ground money,
as moms do, you're like, I know what I have
(22:03):
to get done today.
Speaker 1 (22:04):
And you can just go check check and you stay
on course. Got to start dinner by six, okay, so
I got to be wrapped up by this time with
this fat and the third like keep yourself organized. It
plays a big part in success, for sure.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
I want to also, you know, hearing you say like, hey,
I'm ending, I'm leaving a people pleasing season and no
means no, and I think you know that encompasses so
much like can you bake fifty cupcakes for daycare? And
the answer just might be no, I cannot.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
Yeah, and you have that little bit of guilt because
you want to. You want to be like Jill's mommy,
who brings everything and she's perfect, but she's dealing with
her own stuff that you don't even know what she's
dealing with, and that's her thing that she's doing. But
I cannot make fifty cupcakes on the drop of a dime.
I'm sorry. I'll be able to buy them, you know,
maybe maybe not. But sometimes the answer is just I
(22:53):
can't make it happen. And you can't feel naughty about that.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
No.
Speaker 2 (22:59):
And I'm getting so much better at that too, because
I feel like it was an evolution because for me,
the biggest thing would be actually to say no, and
then I'd spend five minutes explaining why I couldn't do
it because I felt so bad. Now, like new Tan,
you will be like no, and inside I still feel bad,
but I'm like, Okay, it's okay. You were allowed to
(23:19):
say no.
Speaker 1 (23:21):
Yeah, you don't have to run down your excuse list
and it just adds too much. No, I'm sorry, Yes.
Speaker 2 (23:28):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (23:29):
So you talked a little bit about this with euphoria,
But what are some of the resources or support systems
that you've had that have really helped you to sort
of balance motherhood and entrepreneurship, Like who are the is
it people? Is it you know, business people, lawyers? Like
who is it that makes your team really work?
Speaker 1 (23:48):
Honestly, because I do so many different things. There's motherhood,
there's entrepreneurship, there's the acting and all of that. My
mom's I'm very blessed that I come from a blended
fan family and you know, my mom is incredible. And
then I also have a stepmother, Justine, who you guys
were introduced to on Runs House, and I'm able to
(24:09):
go to them for anything. I think the importance of
a solid community is really important. And then also picking
a mentor in the field that you're in is also
an important thing. Having someone you can run to that
may have been to where you envision yourself being with
just anything, someone that you can truly trust, who you
(24:30):
don't feel like you're you know, inconvenience and coming to
with your problem. So you discuss if they're interested in
being your mentor having a mentor very very important to
help you stay on track and you know, bounce your
ideas off of. And then also for resources reading. Right now,
I'm reading a book called One Audible. It's called The
(24:52):
Emotional Emotional well Being for Black Women, and it's just
helping me to manage my well being daily so I'm
not overwhelmed, so that I can show up my best self.
So picking some piece of literature that will really help you.
It's amazing to me now that I've gotten older, how
much the self care section of the store and when
(25:16):
I do go to a bookstore or the audible section
is my best friend. Like there'll always be something that
can just help me, even if it's before I remember,
I was reading a book called Mastering the Art of
Small Talk because I was having a hard time with
just like a small talk, like feeling like every conversation
had to be this big, drawn out, you know, intellectual conversation.
(25:39):
It doesn't. Sometimes we can just pick each other up
through small talk. So the resources are definitely my community
and then being able to fill myself up with some
sort of like book or something that's going to make
me better mentally.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
Yeah. I have always been a big book geek and
have a really lit book club, as I like to say, so,
I'm always looking for good books. And you know, it's funny.
I yeah, I tell people like audible, it's it's audible
is reading. Oftentimes people will be like, yeah, you know,
kind of quietly go it's inaudible. But this is how
(26:14):
you fit, you know, thirty six hours into a twenty
four hour day, you're driving, you're listening to an audible,
you're filling your cup up. You know, whether it's like
something fun that allows you to escape, or you're getting
something really tangible for your soul. I love that, So
I will certainly check out that book. Okay, well, Vanessa,
you've been so so inspiring. I want to know what's
coming up next for you. What can you tease us with?
(26:36):
What should we pay attention that's coming out for you soon?
Speaker 1 (26:41):
Building euphoria. I'm really excited about building the community and
just making wellness interesting and impactful as I can get
people talking and interested in how they could, you know,
improve their lives in some sort of way. And acting.
I'm going to be a age play coming up. You know,
(27:01):
with the strikes and things, we have to find other
ways to really get into our crafts. And I am
gonna be doing a stage play called Rotten Apple about
the struggle of African Americans in the sixties to you know,
strive for the American dream. So I'm really really excited.
(27:23):
That's gonna be in September in Maryland, one weekend in
Maryland and one weekend in North Carolina. So I'm extremely
excited about that. And you know, just gonna do my
best and forget the rest like my dad said, and
do the best I can to show up every day
and hope and dream that I could just empower and
inspire people. So that is the goal and the dream
(27:45):
for the next what's next for me?
Speaker 2 (27:49):
First of all, I love that do your best and
forget the rest. And wow, I love that you're getting
back to stage. That's super exciting and we will definitely
check out for any time you it comes to your
town or wherever people are so they make sure that
they can tune in can you tell us where they
can follow you on social media so they can stay
abreast of all these amazing developments.
Speaker 1 (28:11):
Yes, you can follow me on Instagram at Vanessa Jasimmons
and you can follow Euphoria at you four ia now
and we have our website dropping pretty soon, so I
am excited about that. It is also euphorianow dot com.
So I'm really excited about all of that. Thank you
so much for the support today, and I'm looking forward
(28:34):
to empowering people. That's the goal.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
Vanessa, you are such a gem. Thank you so much
for sharing your light with so many of us and
helping us be well find alignment all of those things
money movers. That is all the time we have for today,
but make sure you follow Vanessa on her social media
platforms so that you can stay abreast of all her
incredible developments. Yes, thank you, tune in next time, Siah.
(29:01):
Thanks for listening to today's episode. If we helped you
make your money move, please share it with your community,
Subscribe and leave us a review on iHeartRadio and Apple podcasts.
Follow us on social media at Greenwood and visit us
at Gogreenwood dot com for more financial tips and remember
money movers. If this were easy, everyone would do it.
So take the lessons you've learned from this episode and
(29:23):
apply it to your life. Here's a sneak peak of
next week's episode.
Speaker 4 (29:28):
And so I tell people a lot when they ask me,
what's that one piece of advice that I would give?
And that is to not believe that failure exists. Because
failure is not failure unless you give up before you succeed.
So I could look at my first PR business and
say that failed, but that's not true. I've built this
(29:48):
entire company on PR.
Speaker 2 (29:51):
Money Moves is an iHeartRadio podcast powered by Greenwood Executive
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keys to financial freedom you so rightly deserve. Until next time,
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