Honey & Hustle

Not all entrepreneurs are leaders, but all leaders can benefit from thinking like entrepreneurs. To close the gap between those at the top and those doing the work, Margaret Brunson PhD. teaches leadership to encourage healthy work cultures.

Through accountability, wellness, and innovation inspired by life experience, she works with her clients to lessen the loneliness of entrepreneurship. In this episode, you'll learn the importan...

Confections, community, and a little bit of fairy dust make up the incredible sugary profiles made sensational by Wonderpuff. Jackie Marin and her husband discovered their interested in creating custom confections for events, weddings, and more in South Florida and brought their talents to the Durham area 6 years ago.

Since it's inception, they've perfected the science of creating their flavors modeled after their experiences and t...

Liberation Station is a children's book store that was created on the belief that youth need a safe space for discovery. A space centered in humanity, joy, and curiosity. A physical space located in downtown Raleigh in view of the capital building made for the perfect location in the eyes of Victoria Scott-Miller and her family.

Starting with bringing curated books and folding table to pop-up events and transitioning to online sale...

Durham's first sweet hub has landed in historic East Durham. Stacey Ramos is the founder of Bull City Sweet Shoppe, and the lead curator of the confections that are featured in her shop form herself and other businesses in the area. In getting a brick and mortar location, she had to weigh so many questions – When should we think about hiring? Which businesses fit our model? What is the cost of doing business in a physical location?...

What is your superpower? Whether you're a creator, entrepreneur, or nonprofit founder there's likely something that makes you and what you do unique. When it comes to identifying and showcasing your unique perspective as a thought leader, working with a ghost writer is one way to communicate your thoughts better.

Emily Crookston, also known as The Pocket PhD, works with clients as a ghost blogger and ghost writer of books and Linke...

From power poses to powdered noses, Valonda Calloway is no stranger to the spotlight. With a career in television and media, she's learned and adapted how to show up on screen, learnings she practices herself and teaches to her clients. If you don't want to hinder your success, you need to use your voice.

This episode can truly help you prepare for any professional setting, overcome gaffes, and go from creator to teacher. Find out ...

Being in a family of entrepreneurs can be a great way to learn how to successfully start your own business. However, it may take a few tries to build the right one. Charles Freeman is the founder of Black Cap Ginger, and brought all the lessons from his previous business ventures with him. He's building an intentional enterprise that focuses on building slowly and educating people about the benefits of ginger.

His mom, wife, and da...

Why would a brewery care about eliminating local bus fares, decreasing gun violence, or any social issues? When you build businesses to create positive social in your community change like David Meeker, you're bound to get into some good trouble.

To help him balance his commitments to his business ventures and his desire to make a positive social impact, he shares what he calls his 80/20 rule. We dove into the nitty gritty of how C...

Accepting that debt could benefit his business is a financial mindset shift that Chi Yiu made during his journey in entrepreneurship. Being afraid of failure and not wanting to be in a position to be fired from a job are powerful motivators to exploring different approaches to making your business successful.

Chi founded Wood + Water Studio in 2018 and has since become a champion of affordable housing solutions that meet the presen...

Jennifer and Tina have come a long way from their “sausage wagon” days, but their goal has remained the same: supporting local farmers in getting their meat on your kitchen table. Jennifer Curtis, the co-founder of Firsthand Foods, knows the importance of taking a risk alongside farmers.

Having a healthy relationship with the food you eat, including the knowledge of where it comes from, can prove to be incredibly transformative. It...

Black farmers are losing land at an alarming rate in the United States. Hearing the struggles of Black farmers in North Carolina during the pandemic prompted the founders of Tall Grass Food Box to ask themselves, “ What is our role in their sustainability?”

Derrick Beasley, Gabrielle Carter, and Gerald Harris came together to aggregate food and produce from Black farmers across North Carolina in a community-supported agriculture (o...

Lie + Loft is a brand at the intersection of golf, interior design, and art. The founder, Luke Davis, makes this multi-passionate venture look as easy as enjoying being a homebody on a chilly, winter day. However, pushing through self-doubt without a co-founder as a sounding board has presented him with challenges along the way. It took him 1 year to get his first online customer, proving that building an e-Commerce brand is a long...

Sometimes, the best thing to do is start something bananas with other crazy people who believe it can work. Crystal Driesbach is the founder and executive director of Don’t Waste Durham and Green To Go, a nonprofit and subsidiary organization focusing on reusable products and the circular economy.

By structuring her startup under a nonprofit umbrella, she’s been able to take more risks up front and explore an abundance of funding o...

Using language that’s accessible and inviting to anyone, Omari Akil of Colorway Game Labs has successfully been able to highlight aspects of Black culture through board games. A graphic designer and creative by trade, Omari branched into the world of tabletop design when he and his brother realized that there weren’t many games made with storylines featuring people that looked like them.

Through capitalizing on board game events an...

A majority of the general population fears public speaking. Where does the trauma of public speaking stem from? Kenia Thompson has made it her mission to demystify public speaking to help people gain confidence in sharing their voices, no matter the size of the audience. Her career in journalism has come full circle, and she now serves as the host of the Black Issues Forum on PBS. Learn her tips to enhance your one-on-one conve...

How can you learn if you're hungry?" Margo Newkirk, one half of the dynamic duo that is Blend of Soul, asked this during our conversation. Margo Newkirk and Kiera Gardner set out to make healthy smoothies accessible to underserved areas in North Carolina. Though they began in Durham, their dream and focus has expanded to include more products and more areas across the state through pop-ups, local pick-ups, and home delivery service...

What do you truly want your life to look like? This important question is the driving force behind how to define your sales goals based on the life you want to lead. Elyse Archer is a sales coach, speaker, and consultant that empowers her clients to dig deep when looking to change their relationship with revenue. We talked about the mindset shift that enabled her to make more money, and how she knew it was time to invest in herself...

With over 70 years of collective living experience in the Triangle, Tom and Keith have developed a lot of relationships in the local entrepreneurial ecosystem. I sat down with the founders of Resilient Ventures to talk about their approach to investing in minority-owned startups to address systemic wealth gaps. Why do they focus on African American founders? Less than 2% of all venture capital investment has gone to these founders....

Dr. Nehemiah Mabry began STEMedia while pursuing his PhD in engineering. During his transition from full-time engineer to full-time digital agency owner, he talks about the mental and emotional parts of the job being the hardest to overcome. Hear him talk about firing himself to realize his company's full potential. Learn more about the incredible work STEMedia is doing at https://www.stemedia.com/

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