April 9, 2024 • 27 mins
Our Building Black Biz Podcast features Angela Yee in conversation with Vanessa James, founder of VJMedia, , a full time voiceover artist who can be heard on iHeartradio stations all over the country! In Partnership with @DriveToyota
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
What's up? Its way up.But Angela Yee. I'm Angela Yee and
my Wealth Wednesday partner Stacy Tisdale ishere. Happy Wealth Wednesday everybody, and
we are so excited. We havea very special guest today, the one,
the only, Vanessa James. Hi, everybody. I am so excited
to be on this program today.See this is why she's good at what
she does. She already started itoff right now. Media personality voiceovers.
(00:23):
We could just kind of let yourun the show here. You're doing a
great job. Publisist Stacey do it. But you know, Vanessa, you
do have a background in radio andin media. So let's talk about how
you got started and by the way, you can follow her at Vanessa James
Media. Okay, thank you plug, thank you, thank by you for
the plug. Let's start. Let'stalk about your start in this media business
(00:45):
and how you were able to expandyour brand. Well, it started off
much like you in radio and radiofor me started off in Tallahassee, where
I'm at Doc Winter we know verywell, and transition down to South Florida
and that's where I got my firstprogramming slash So on the air as well
as music director. I'm Trinny,so multiple jobs, all the jobs,
all the job born in Trinidad,orn in Trinidad, so you know,
(01:08):
I'm you know, serious about allthe jobs. But and then transitioned to
being on the air. So itwas great back then to just kind of
figure out, Okay, well doI like programming more or you know,
being on the air more, doingpromotions more? And I realized I kind
of like it all. But youhave to pick and radio, you know,
in order to be really great,you do have to pick a lane.
Right. Do you want to bea personality, Yeah, do you
(01:30):
want to be a program exactly?Exactly? So I picked programmer to start
personality and that really transitioned me intoevents in that whole space. I love
that in radio, especially if youare versatile, you do get to play
in lots of different spaces and seewhat you like. And that's what I
did. So in two thousand andnine when my station flipped I'm sorry twenty
ten, when my station flipped,I decided I didn't want to go to
(01:53):
another radio market and I started VanessaJames Media at that time so I could
pay myself because I was doing alot of freelance work and clients would be
like, can you send me aninvoice? I'm like, shit, let
me figure out what we get thiscompany together. And that's how we kind
of get started with that, andI transitioned into doing hosting and doing voice
over full time, and that's reallyhovingness of James Media was born really out
(02:13):
of necessity when people always ask methis if they want to get into radio,
because people ask me all the time, and I know they ask you
as much. Point and things havereally changed a lot, though, what
would you tell somebody who's listening this, like, man, I've always wanted
to get into programming or I've alwayswanted to be on the radio. I
would definitely say this. It's it'sa shrinking business as we know, and
(02:36):
I think what's happened, especially withprogramming that I know a lot of the
program directors I know are programming multiplestations, three, four or five stations
right across the country, even thoughthey're in one market, working in one
place. Same thing with a lotof radio hosts too, they're they're hosting
in multiple markets as well. Iwould say, what's great is you don't
necessarily have to travel and hop around. Right now, if you want a
(02:57):
radio job, just know that youdo have to be very malleable. As
Doc would like to say, youstill always tell me that be you gotta
be malleable. So I say thatto say i'd stay okay. So in
the market that you're in, reachout to and find those program directors and
hosts that you like and see ifyou can shadow them, you know,
and see if the opportunities come thatway. Because a lot of the times
(03:17):
that you know, when people wereon the come up for me, they
were volunteers. And now we can'thave volunteers anymore in radio. You have
to be paid, but volunteers,interns and that type of thing where you
could really kind of shadow somebody andsee if it's even something that you like,
because behind the scenes, it's alot of work. Look what you
ended up doing. You started ina corporation, went entrepreneurial. But now
(03:38):
you're not only doing media work.You're doing events, you're doing coaching,
you're doing what busy is that busygo? As I was just talking to
my son about this, he's interestedin sports broadcasting. I'm like, you
can't make a living as a journalistanymore. You just can't do it because
the pricing structure like going into production. So talk about how you are a
media you know, you do yourvoiceovers, but you've had to build a
(04:00):
business around it. Oh yeah,absolutely so VJ Media, which I'm very
proud to celebrate it thirteen years asan election. Wild it is. It's
a big year. This is asuperstitious room to them, Yes it is.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, itis a person Okay, thirteen But
I will say the way that Ireally transitioned and looking back all this time,
it's really kind of shown me thatversatility for me means again allowing yourself
(04:25):
to have those opportunities to explore allall the different assets. And I'm so
excited to be here on your wellshow because I took the time also to
save and so because I saved moneyalong the way, I didn't just spend
the money on all the Gucci bagsand all that stuff. I got a
chance to be very versatile. Okay, I need you in New York.
Okay, cool, I'm gonna flyup. I voiced k to you here
(04:46):
in New York. If I neededto come up and see my you know,
PD, I'd come up. Andit was a quick thing for me
because I had savings to be ableto have that versatility and flexibility to try
things and decide Okay, here's here'syou know, the the the journey I
want to take with my business.And I have that flexibility because I had
a little bit of money saved tohave that cushion to be able to be
freak and clear and try things rightand see how they flowed. Sometimes you
(05:09):
got to fly yourself, yeah,to get things done. You can't do
six k to South Africa on yourown, on your own ax. In
all fairness, I was getting paid, and you have to know what it
is that you want to spend yourmoney on. Absolutely, you know,
because for some people, I'll staySome people might be like, I don't
(05:30):
care, I'll stay at whatever hotel. But you know, okay, I
need to make sure if anything,my hotel's got to be nice, yes,
good restaurant, yes, clean,safe, yes, you know,
especially traveling alone as a woman,those are things are very yeah. Yeah,
talk a little bit more about that, the entrepreneurial side and that saving
side and kind of that financial foundation. A lot of people don't. I
(05:51):
would love to talk about money.Thank you. Let's talk about money,
shall we? No, so forme, look, entrepreneur okay, entrepreneurial
life is not easy. Is itis gonna get you some bags? So
you don't need to have some goodskincare and some sacrifice and a lot of
sacrifice and a lot of gumption becauseyou are taking a risk on yourself.
(06:11):
But I think what better person totake a risk on than me? And
so for me, I really useit as an opportunity to kind of get
again, play in a lot ofdifferent fields and see what is it that
I want to do and what doI want my legacy and journey to be
about and so and and that becomessomething that you become really passionate about and
constantly trying new things, like rightnow I'm in my event season flow.
(06:32):
So VJ Media, you know,is definitely becoming a hub. It's not
just necessarily voiceover on camera work hosting. It's also throwing events and celebrating other
women. It's also celebrating my Caribbeancommunity with my event, food, wine,
and fet It's it's having my hand, my trainy hand and lots of
different buckets play. So but yeah, and and so I think that again
(06:57):
because I have that flexibility as anentrepreneur, I able to kind of try
and say, hey, here arethe things I love and I want to
continue to pursue, and here's thethings I don't really care about doing.
And so for you know, asas that relates to radio, it's programming
that I realized because there's a lotof sometimes ties and holds on you,
especially corporate radio. As much asI loved it, and that's where I
really earned my stripes, I didrealize that my I seasoned out of that
(07:21):
in terms of the shackles, let'ssay that sometimes it has on you in
terms of how much flexibility you have, Like I would always want to put
Soca artists on the air because I'mlike, I want to make sure and
celebrate my people, I feel youyes, and dance hall artists and stuff
like that, especially in the marketlike Miami, and so we'd have that
too little pocket hour on Sundays andthat was it. Yeah. And meanwhile,
(07:42):
it's like fifty percent of the marketis from the Caribbean. Right.
It's so interesting that you say that, because part of why I was like
I really wanted my own show wasto be able to have the ability to
say this is who I want tohave on but then you do also have
to think what people are responding nowto. So it is it is.
It's a business, yeah, andit's a business. I want to discuss
how you decided it was time foryou to actually start your own business,
(08:05):
because that's scary for some people havingthe security and safety of a paycheck and
then realizing, Okay, now I'mgoing to step out on my own.
When did you realize it was time? Well, time was forced upon me
when my station flipped, right,so twenty ten June, I remember exactly
what it was. It flipped actuallyMay. And at that time I had
the choice because I had great relationshipsin the industry that I still have,
(08:28):
and so I got calls like,hey, VJ. We got you in
Chicago, you know, are youinterested in coming to New York? Are
you with g Spin? Are youinterested in coming to South you know,
San Francisco? And at that timeI had a choice. And for me,
I'm very rooted in my roots,right and so for me, South
Florida just felt like a natural fit. And it was a cops and a
hop and a skift from the Caribbean. So if I wanted to take a
(08:50):
quick trip to Trinidad or the CaymanIslands or Jamaica. I could do that,
but I loved that I had createdso much community there and so it
didn't feel like work in terms ofbuilding things in South Florida because it was
very much like building things with yourpeople. And that's what I realized,
you know what. It was justtime to kind of step out and have
faith on me and not go takethat secure radio job, which was the
(09:11):
same amount of money, but itwas a lateral move. And I'm like,
San Francisco is like thirty five monthfor rent. It's gonna cost to
be a lot to move there.And I had no roots there, and
so I would just tell people whoare starting in business, where are your
roots firmly planted? That's where youshould spring from. That's great advice,
you know what I'm saying. It'sreally easy to keep starting over and over
and over and over. But atthe end of the day, where do
(09:33):
you feel like you're you're your mostcomfortable self and you have a community of
people that you can call and reachon and say, hey, you know,
I'm launching this, you know,and and they're quick and willing to
support you because they know you andyou've spent time building with them, and
that's very important. So Miami isthat place for me? Does it feels
like home? As much as youknow, people try to pull me to
(09:54):
different places, I realize that it'sfunny because I'll travel everywhere, the most
fabulous places in as soon as Isee that poor to Miami, you know,
you know when you feel it,you know, oh, that's awesome.
So through all of this, oneof the many businesses that sprung up
is coaching women entrepreneurs. How didyou get so passionate about that? I
(10:16):
mean, I think coming from arooted Caribbean household that's very multifaceted. My
mom's Indian, my dad's African andVenezuelan, and having so many aunties and
different people around me, woman celebratingwomanhood and celebrating togetherness was really is really
kind of who I am. It'snot something I have to force, it's
not something I have to try tobe. And so with my business,
(10:39):
I knew that I always wanted tomake sure and celebrate other women, and
I always make make sure and takea look and see how is it.
See, here's the thing about celebratingother people. If it comes naturally to
you. It doesn't feel like work, right and so and I realized VJ
Media, I can't do it alone, nor do I want to. So
I created events like VJ Media Mixologyand VJIA is Women of Impact in her
(11:01):
every year in South Florida, whichyou should definitely come to. And I
want to talk to about food,wine in fact too because I should be
there. You should be there forthat. Yeah. Really just giving a
chance to celebrate other women. Andwhat I've realized in the last ten years
is celebrating other women really means growingyour network, growing your community. When
you start to celebrate other people andyou're joyous about it, things just flow
(11:22):
to you and you're constantly having togo, hey, wait a minute,
this is fantastic. Oh you knowwhat, it's it's not a good fit
for me. But I would loveto introduce you to Stacey. I would
love to introduce it to Angela.So that's you know again, I started
to do it and love it,and now events it's it's time again for
VJ Media post pandemic to start doingthese events again. And our first ones
coming up this May and it's acelebration of Caribbean women Caribbean community Allay in
(11:46):
Miami there when you coach women femaleentrepreneurs, what are some of the things
that you're like, oh this again, like what do you think are some
of the things coming up of thingsthat repetitively Definitely the business part of things,
like making sure they have their businessand their money in order, and
making sure that things are trademarked,making sure that they have their It's not
(12:09):
just about okay, so, hey, bj, I want to start a
business. It's about okay, great, I'm so excited for you. Let's
talk about this blueprint of your business. What does it look like, what
does it feel like? What doyou want your business to feel like to
the world. Right, it's veryimportant for things to feel good once you
get past that blueprint. Now,let's firm things up, sis. Okay,
let's make sure you have it llcedor ES Corporate Incorporated based on you
(12:31):
know, your style of business.Let's make sure you have a little bit
of funding, and if you don't, let's see where you can get some
grants locally to help you springboard.Right, Let's look at the other women
in your community and other people inyour community that you can lean on for
graphics or you know, production oryour website, because you can't do it
all alone now, right, Soit's really about how you create that network
(12:52):
so that you can spring forward becauseso often, especially for me, when
I first started, I was everything. I was the webmaster, the content,
I was the graphic designer doing thevoiceovers all day. Growing. No,
it's not a good thing. Youwear yourself out, and also you
wear your creativity out when you doit and approach it that way. Now,
Vanessa, you also, by theway, talk a lot about networking,
(13:16):
and that's been really instrumental to youbeing able to start your own business.
Even before you were starting your business, you had great relationships with people
with clients. So how did youfigure out when it was time for you
to start your own company? Approachingthese clients and knowing the value of what
it is that you're bringing to thetable, because I think those financial conversations,
(13:37):
initially for some people can be difficultto have, and also knowing,
Okay, what is the price forthis and how do I properly price this?
I remember, I'll give you aperfect example. So baby Sam,
we all know and love her.Oh yes, a girl. So I
used to voice a lot of RCAalbum releases, Usher, Anthony Hamilton,
(13:58):
A Keys, I mean a lot, anything that you knew would come out,
they'd always send it my way andshe would come to me and she
would say, like obviously knowing herfrom radio, well you're really good at
what you do. I want youto voice these projects for me, and
I would never know how to pricethem. How do you price the Usher
album release? I don't know,you know what I mean. It's taking
me about an hour to do thiswork. How do I price it?
(14:20):
So that's when I realized that wastwenty and eleven, twenty twelve. Like
BJ, you got to just askpeople and stop just assuming. Because I
was for a couple of those albumreleases underpricing myself and other projects like that.
I think when you don't know,it's okay to say hey, I
don't know and reach out to differentpeople in your community. At that time,
(14:41):
Juliet Jones and a couple of VJhere's what you should be charging,
you know what I'm saying. Sohere's where this particular spot is going to
run in all these markets and television, radio, and this is what the
cost is. As a business personthat you should be charging for this.
So when you don't know, especiallywhen it comes to pricing, especially as
women reach out to other people,well, reach out to strangers if you
need to, and I mean thepower of social media is real. To
(15:03):
make sure you're asking those questions.Yeah, absolutely, so that you make
you know, make sure you're pricingyourself appropriately. So what is next for
you? You have these events,you have everything, wipe it back up,
back up. And one thing Iwant to unpack that you mentioned unpackaged,
Stacy, Let's unpack it. Youmentioned local grants. Yeah, and
(15:26):
that's something so few people think about. Talk about that, preach about it,
preach about it. Okay, Solocal grants are so important, especially
women owned businesses that are listening tothe sound of my voice. Whatever market
you're in here in New York,suburbs of New York, this is you
know, a global show as well. Think about all the different things that
you do, and especially if you'rejust getting started in your business, there
(15:48):
are companies that are looking to justgive money away because it's a write off
for them, specifically in your city, in your you know, in your
area. And then also local businessesthat fund and support other women in the
form of grants. So what Iwould say to you to do is google
local grants for women in Miami andsee what pops up and take a look
(16:08):
at those. When I first wasgetting started, I had applied for two.
I got one. I think itwas like five thousand dollars, but
I used that five thousand dollars.And now the grant process is very laborious,
so you have to be prepared tohave all those documents to prove that
your woman owned at least fifty percent, and that you you know, if
you have employees or if it's justyou, all those things. You have
to make sure all your ducks arethe blueprint I was talking about, make
(16:30):
sure you have that altogether first.But then you can apply, and you'd
be surprised how many businesses and howmany resources there are out there to help
support other women. Yeah, sometimespeople don't apply for some of these guys
are so few that it makes ita lot easier exactly for you to They're
like, how come no one's applied, especially if you qualify you and you
check all those boxes. It's veryimportant. How has your business changed throughout
(16:52):
the years, because when you firststarted it back in was it twenty ten.
It's different than where you are now. So what are some things that
you learned along the way. Youtalk about being malleable, So discuss that
as far as Vanessa James Media andwhat you've learned you needed to add to
your business or maybe things that mayhave you know, timing wise, maybe
(17:12):
this isn't as important as this.For me, for sure, I needed
to add a staff. I neededto add a team first and foremost,
I needed to add a publicist.I needed to add people that were creative,
that could think about things different thanI was thinking about them. Again,
for me, VJ Media is isshe's I say, she's now,
(17:32):
you know, in her teenage phasebecause she's thirteen. She's been through some
things, some growing pains. Butnow she's like ready, she's got the
she's got the mini blazer on,she's ready to rock, she's ready to
roar. The thing that I've learnedis that not only can I not do
it alone, I don't want toin order for me to grow and build
it. Like I remember, forquite some time, I would be like,
oh my god, I got togive this agent ten percent. Now
(17:53):
I'm like, take the ten percentto your job. Do your job.
Take the ten percent and and Iwill gladly keep working. And because as
I'm working, I'm polishing, I'mgrowing, I'm changing, I'm you know,
evolving as well. So to me, the number one thing that I
can I can sell somebody, especiallybeing in business for over a decade,
is find people. Find a team, even if it's just two to three
(18:15):
people that believe in you, andthat understand where you're going and can grow
and flourish with you. And don'tbe afraid to pay them, pay people
to help you, you know,because time is the one thing that and
the one asset I don't have.Like, literally, I'm planning a food
festival. I'm in New York tonight, guys. She's planning a food literally
my food online festival celebrating Caribbean chefsand artists and creative of that. But
(18:41):
no, but I wouldn't be ableto do that without a really good team
and staff that I know has thingscovered while I'm not there, you know.
So that's what I mean. I'mgoing to ask you to give our
audience free advice. I would loveto for this. What you basically have
a business by creating content and usingthat content to build your brand. A
lot of people have to build theirbrands on social media, right, what
(19:03):
are some tips that you have forpeople on the type of content they can
be creating and using social media forthat brand building? Get client purpose.
I think think about what it isthat again, you're trying to put out
in the world. What is becauseat the end of the day, the
content is leading people back to aplace. Is it that you have a
website of services that you're offering.Is it a product that you're offering,
(19:25):
So that content is really just somethingthat you're amplifying. You're amplifying yourself as
a business. You know, forme, it's me as a as a
multimedia personality and vo actress first,right, and that's what you see when
you go to my social because that'swhat I want to promote. But the
end of the day, think aboutsocial really is just a mirror of all
the different things that you're doing,Right, It's your highlight reel. Like
(19:48):
I like to say, so,at the end of the day, make
sure that if it's that you're businessexcuse me, if it's that you are
a business person, make sure thatit's reflecting and promoting the business services that
you offer because so many people areon social medi people and I'm like,
wait, are you you know it'ssays handle, what do you offer?
What can I purchase? You knowwhat I'm saying, totally you got that
everybody? Yeah, I was free. People pay her for that kind of
(20:11):
a free tea, free t Howdo you work and collaborate with some of
these huge brands? Oh yeah,you've had as your clients. So that's
the one thing that's probably the numberone question that I get asked. Because
I do work with a lot ofbrands. I get asked all the times.
I'm sure you do all the timeas well about brand collaborations. So
brands, especially if you're on socialand you're a social person and it's an
(20:33):
asset that you're offering, a lotof times will come to you. And
so the reason I especially auto brands. I work with quite a few auto
brands, and they came to mebecause in South Florida, I was one
of the only people that was crosspromoting and celebrating other women and bringing them
together at events. So they're like, we want to be where the women
are because the women purchase the cars, right, And so again, think
about what it is that you're offeringreach out to brands, to their multicultural
(20:56):
directors, to their agency. That'swhere people should start with our multicultural Well,
if you're a person of color,definitely yeah, or if your general
market then but you want to makesure you're reaching out to people that can
make decisions as it relates to thatbrand's dollars in the market, that you're
doing something right. So if it'sthat you're listening to us and you're in
New Jersey and you want to putsomething together and you want support from a
(21:18):
brand, make sure that that makessure you're reaching out to the representative of
the person in New Jersey that canhelp assist you. And you can find
this on LinkedIn, you can findit on their socials, you can find
I mean, it's at the endof the day, we're very interconnected.
If you pay attention and you loveit's such a valuable it is. I've
gotten so many jobs and speech,especially speaking engagements, and that's why it's
(21:41):
important. How your whole profile isset up on there as well too,
and you're responding absolutely all the time. I'm so bad, I'm last time
you posted was December. Up hereto keep us accountable exactly, exactly,
(22:03):
personal, personal, exactly. Well, I want to also make sure that
people can figure out how they canget involved with the food and wine food
wine. Okay, can we havea moment because I as I know that
you are here to talk to meabout me, but can we have a
moment to celebrate your love for allthings caribbeaness and Soca and kess. My
boyfriend my side man, he hasa boo. I have a boo,
(22:26):
but that is my whole side man. Okay, No, So so I
mean soca and So we are doingan event VJ Media Productions. I'm so
excited about it. We did itin twenty nineteen. It was the first
one. It was really just atest to see, like, as much
as I love events, and youknow, is there a way I can
kind of bring all the things Ilove about my Caribbean community together in South
Florida and celebrate. So we didfood, wine, and FT. We
(22:48):
trademarked it, we coined it,we all all those things, and then
we put it together. Well fivehundred people showed up and they were like,
this is amazing. That's a nice. Yes, that's a nice and
I like the way, by theway started off. It wasn't like a
huge no, you let it see, like you said, a test,
let's test, let's see how itdoes in the markets. Throw it.
Yeah, and you know, ye, it's crazy because you would. One
(23:11):
thing I love about my Caribbean community. They love not just to fet,
but a fet with a purpose issomething that they take very personal too.
So I love that people are nowcoming together saying, hey, wait a
minute, I want my chef tobe a part of this. I want
my wine to be a part ofthis. I want you know, my
chocolates to be a part of this. It's it's amazing. So it's a
it's a it's a love language tomy Caribbean community here in South in South
Florida and listening everywhere. And it'sfood, Wine and Fed is happening Saturday,
(23:34):
May eighteenth in Miami. I wouldlove for you to come and take
a line as as they'll go tosign up for all this stuff. Food
Wine, infed dot com. Easytogether. Hello, we just had a
whole business conversation foodwanafe dot com.Uh, hell Media, what's your website?
Because all Jamesmedia dot com. That'swhat I was trying. Yeah,
yeah, yeah, yeah, that'smedia dot Com for all things BJ well
(23:57):
we are all things Vanessa things.We can't wait to come to all these
Yes one in fact, you knowthat's right up my alley. Know I'm
trying to get Chef JJ there becauseI just saw you with him, soby
one, yeah out there. Andthen I always do the one here in
New York as well, but youknow, not my Angela y Day,
which is all celebrating Caribbean cu Iknow as well, I don't know about
(24:19):
this Angela Day. I haven't beeninvited. I haven't I haven't been but
when is it? Because I needto be there the actual day. I
know it's community driven, which isamazing. Why that gave me my own
day, which is August twenty eighth. Okay, so there's a kind of
floats around depending on availability because it'llbe at the Barclays in the square in
the front. But yes, mymother's Caribbean from Montserrat and it's also right
(24:42):
around the West Indian American Day Parade, so I kind of wanted that to
be a precursor, very family oriented. I'm from Brooklyn, you know,
Brooklyn is like a is little Caribbeanhere in New York and so that's the
reason why that, and then youknow, celebrating my own culture too that
I grew up, that I grewup on as well. So that's why
I'm excited for that. Caribbean foodis my number one favorite type of food.
(25:04):
Okay, so let's talk about it, Okayriban food and day turns tonight,
Okay, and everybody, Caribbean doesnot only mean to make in food.
No, it's not right. No, Okay, But you know Melissa
from the Grill, she's Chiney.Dahlia used to own Tilly's. I feel
like a lot of my friends areTrainny. Yes, and so even my
makeup artist she's Trainny. So alot of the people who are around me.
(25:29):
So I will say, I do, and you can't. You can't
get away from it. I can'tescape it. Have you been to Carnival
yet? I have not. I'mactually going to Thomas. I'm going to
say, Thomas Carnival, You're gonnalove it. I missed Trinidad this year,
but I love St. Thomas.I feel like next for Trinidad,
you have to really be ready.Not only do you have to be ready,
you have to prepare yourself mentally,physically and financially stacy because it's an
Investmentidad Cannibal is not for you tolord, meaning you can't be like half
(25:55):
step in it. You gotta it'sit's a commitment. It's like the super
Bowl of carnivals, right, yougot it, so like a month before.
You got to get through the playoffsfirst, and you gotta qualify before.
Yes, but yes, it's amazing. It'll change your life. You're
amazing, and we appreciate you forcoming things. You are just like a
breath of fresh air. Thank you. I'm so honored to be here,
(26:15):
and even just for you being inthe business that I'm in, you know,
that is amazing to me, justto see how you've managed to do
that, because sometimes it is scaryto leave this safety net of having a
day job. You know, Itry to do both. I try to
like fund everything I have going onwith my my day job also, you
know, because I do love whatI do. But I think that it's
(26:37):
very admirable and commendable that you havethese great relationships here that have transferred over
to VJ Media also so that theyalready still are going to be using you.
Our clients of yours just because ofhow you've sown those seeds. Well,
thank you. That's an important thingfor anybody right now who has a
nine to five that's trying to figureout starting their own thing, start with
that nine to nive and see howthey can become your client. Absolutely,
(27:00):
that's the first that's the first placeI looked. Mm hmmm. That's why
you can't mess up at work tryingto do Yes, I hustle too,
Yeah, come on, And that'swhy it's important to be good to people,
because they don't forget how you makethem feel. I read I was
listening to you get interviewed, andyou said your mother told you that treat
the janitor and the CEO the same, the same, absolutely, with the
same respect. Yes, absolutely,don't treat them both. Don't treat them
(27:23):
both. No, no, no, no, no respect. Well,
thank you so much. We reallyappreciate you, and we're looking forward to
doing more with you in the future. Same. Can't get forward to it,
can't wait for all your events.Okay, thank you Stacey, Thank
you Angela for having me. Ofcourse, thank you
What's up? Its way up.But Angela Yee. I'm Angela Yee and
my Wealth Wednesday partner Stacy Tisdale ishere. Happy Wealth Wednesday everybody, and
we are so excited. We havea very special guest today, the one,
the only, Vanessa James. Hi, everybody. I am so excited
to be on this program today.See this is why she's good at what
she does. She already started itoff right now. Media personality voiceovers.
(00:23):
We could just kind of let yourun the show here. You're doing a
great job. Publisist Stacey do it. But you know, Vanessa, you
do have a background in radio andin media. So let's talk about how
you got started and by the way, you can follow her at Vanessa James
Media. Okay, thank you plug, thank you, thank by you for
the plug. Let's start. Let'stalk about your start in this media business
(00:45):
and how you were able to expandyour brand. Well, it started off
much like you in radio and radiofor me started off in Tallahassee, where
I'm at Doc Winter we know verywell, and transition down to South Florida
and that's where I got my firstprogramming slash So on the air as well
as music director. I'm Trinny,so multiple jobs, all the jobs,
all the job born in Trinidad,orn in Trinidad, so you know,
(01:08):
I'm you know, serious about allthe jobs. But and then transitioned to
being on the air. So itwas great back then to just kind of
figure out, Okay, well doI like programming more or you know,
being on the air more, doingpromotions more? And I realized I kind
of like it all. But youhave to pick and radio, you know,
in order to be really great,you do have to pick a lane.
Right. Do you want to bea personality, Yeah, do you
(01:30):
want to be a program exactly?Exactly? So I picked programmer to start
personality and that really transitioned me intoevents in that whole space. I love
that in radio, especially if youare versatile, you do get to play
in lots of different spaces and seewhat you like. And that's what I
did. So in two thousand andnine when my station flipped I'm sorry twenty
ten, when my station flipped,I decided I didn't want to go to
(01:53):
another radio market and I started VanessaJames Media at that time so I could
pay myself because I was doing alot of freelance work and clients would be
like, can you send me aninvoice? I'm like, shit, let
me figure out what we get thiscompany together. And that's how we kind
of get started with that, andI transitioned into doing hosting and doing voice
over full time, and that's reallyhovingness of James Media was born really out
(02:13):
of necessity when people always ask methis if they want to get into radio,
because people ask me all the time, and I know they ask you
as much. Point and things havereally changed a lot, though, what
would you tell somebody who's listening this, like, man, I've always wanted
to get into programming or I've alwayswanted to be on the radio. I
would definitely say this. It's it'sa shrinking business as we know, and
(02:36):
I think what's happened, especially withprogramming that I know a lot of the
program directors I know are programming multiplestations, three, four or five stations
right across the country, even thoughthey're in one market, working in one
place. Same thing with a lotof radio hosts too, they're they're hosting
in multiple markets as well. Iwould say, what's great is you don't
necessarily have to travel and hop around. Right now, if you want a
(02:57):
radio job, just know that youdo have to be very malleable. As
Doc would like to say, youstill always tell me that be you gotta
be malleable. So I say thatto say i'd stay okay. So in
the market that you're in, reachout to and find those program directors and
hosts that you like and see ifyou can shadow them, you know,
and see if the opportunities come thatway. Because a lot of the times
(03:17):
that you know, when people wereon the come up for me, they
were volunteers. And now we can'thave volunteers anymore in radio. You have
to be paid, but volunteers,interns and that type of thing where you
could really kind of shadow somebody andsee if it's even something that you like,
because behind the scenes, it's alot of work. Look what you
ended up doing. You started ina corporation, went entrepreneurial. But now
(03:38):
you're not only doing media work.You're doing events, you're doing coaching,
you're doing what busy is that busygo? As I was just talking to
my son about this, he's interestedin sports broadcasting. I'm like, you
can't make a living as a journalistanymore. You just can't do it because
the pricing structure like going into production. So talk about how you are a
media you know, you do yourvoiceovers, but you've had to build a
(04:00):
business around it. Oh yeah,absolutely so VJ Media, which I'm very
proud to celebrate it thirteen years asan election. Wild it is. It's
a big year. This is asuperstitious room to them, Yes it is.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, itis a person Okay, thirteen But
I will say the way that Ireally transitioned and looking back all this time,
it's really kind of shown me thatversatility for me means again allowing yourself
(04:25):
to have those opportunities to explore allall the different assets. And I'm so
excited to be here on your wellshow because I took the time also to
save and so because I saved moneyalong the way, I didn't just spend
the money on all the Gucci bagsand all that stuff. I got a
chance to be very versatile. Okay, I need you in New York.
Okay, cool, I'm gonna flyup. I voiced k to you here
(04:46):
in New York. If I neededto come up and see my you know,
PD, I'd come up. Andit was a quick thing for me
because I had savings to be ableto have that versatility and flexibility to try
things and decide Okay, here's here'syou know, the the the journey I
want to take with my business.And I have that flexibility because I had
a little bit of money saved tohave that cushion to be able to be
freak and clear and try things rightand see how they flowed. Sometimes you
(05:09):
got to fly yourself, yeah,to get things done. You can't do
six k to South Africa on yourown, on your own ax. In
all fairness, I was getting paid, and you have to know what it
is that you want to spend yourmoney on. Absolutely, you know,
because for some people, I'll staySome people might be like, I don't
(05:30):
care, I'll stay at whatever hotel. But you know, okay, I
need to make sure if anything,my hotel's got to be nice, yes,
good restaurant, yes, clean,safe, yes, you know,
especially traveling alone as a woman,those are things are very yeah. Yeah,
talk a little bit more about that, the entrepreneurial side and that saving
side and kind of that financial foundation. A lot of people don't. I
(05:51):
would love to talk about money.Thank you. Let's talk about money,
shall we? No, so forme, look, entrepreneur okay, entrepreneurial
life is not easy. Is itis gonna get you some bags? So
you don't need to have some goodskincare and some sacrifice and a lot of
sacrifice and a lot of gumption becauseyou are taking a risk on yourself.
(06:11):
But I think what better person totake a risk on than me? And
so for me, I really useit as an opportunity to kind of get
again, play in a lot ofdifferent fields and see what is it that
I want to do and what doI want my legacy and journey to be
about and so and and that becomessomething that you become really passionate about and
constantly trying new things, like rightnow I'm in my event season flow.
(06:32):
So VJ Media, you know,is definitely becoming a hub. It's not
just necessarily voiceover on camera work hosting. It's also throwing events and celebrating other
women. It's also celebrating my Caribbeancommunity with my event, food, wine,
and fet It's it's having my hand, my trainy hand and lots of
different buckets play. So but yeah, and and so I think that again
(06:57):
because I have that flexibility as anentrepreneur, I able to kind of try
and say, hey, here arethe things I love and I want to
continue to pursue, and here's thethings I don't really care about doing.
And so for you know, asas that relates to radio, it's programming
that I realized because there's a lotof sometimes ties and holds on you,
especially corporate radio. As much asI loved it, and that's where I
really earned my stripes, I didrealize that my I seasoned out of that
(07:21):
in terms of the shackles, let'ssay that sometimes it has on you in
terms of how much flexibility you have, Like I would always want to put
Soca artists on the air because I'mlike, I want to make sure and
celebrate my people, I feel youyes, and dance hall artists and stuff
like that, especially in the marketlike Miami, and so we'd have that
too little pocket hour on Sundays andthat was it. Yeah. And meanwhile,
(07:42):
it's like fifty percent of the marketis from the Caribbean. Right.
It's so interesting that you say that, because part of why I was like
I really wanted my own show wasto be able to have the ability to
say this is who I want tohave on but then you do also have
to think what people are responding nowto. So it is it is.
It's a business, yeah, andit's a business. I want to discuss
how you decided it was time foryou to actually start your own business,
(08:05):
because that's scary for some people havingthe security and safety of a paycheck and
then realizing, Okay, now I'mgoing to step out on my own.
When did you realize it was time? Well, time was forced upon me
when my station flipped, right,so twenty ten June, I remember exactly
what it was. It flipped actuallyMay. And at that time I had
the choice because I had great relationshipsin the industry that I still have,
(08:28):
and so I got calls like,hey, VJ. We got you in
Chicago, you know, are youinterested in coming to New York? Are
you with g Spin? Are youinterested in coming to South you know,
San Francisco? And at that timeI had a choice. And for me,
I'm very rooted in my roots,right and so for me, South
Florida just felt like a natural fit. And it was a cops and a
hop and a skift from the Caribbean. So if I wanted to take a
(08:50):
quick trip to Trinidad or the CaymanIslands or Jamaica. I could do that,
but I loved that I had createdso much community there and so it
didn't feel like work in terms ofbuilding things in South Florida because it was
very much like building things with yourpeople. And that's what I realized,
you know what. It was justtime to kind of step out and have
faith on me and not go takethat secure radio job, which was the
(09:11):
same amount of money, but itwas a lateral move. And I'm like,
San Francisco is like thirty five monthfor rent. It's gonna cost to
be a lot to move there.And I had no roots there, and
so I would just tell people whoare starting in business, where are your
roots firmly planted? That's where youshould spring from. That's great advice,
you know what I'm saying. It'sreally easy to keep starting over and over
and over and over. But atthe end of the day, where do
(09:33):
you feel like you're you're your mostcomfortable self and you have a community of
people that you can call and reachon and say, hey, you know,
I'm launching this, you know,and and they're quick and willing to
support you because they know you andyou've spent time building with them, and
that's very important. So Miami isthat place for me? Does it feels
like home? As much as youknow, people try to pull me to
(09:54):
different places, I realize that it'sfunny because I'll travel everywhere, the most
fabulous places in as soon as Isee that poor to Miami, you know,
you know when you feel it,you know, oh, that's awesome.
So through all of this, oneof the many businesses that sprung up
is coaching women entrepreneurs. How didyou get so passionate about that? I
(10:16):
mean, I think coming from arooted Caribbean household that's very multifaceted. My
mom's Indian, my dad's African andVenezuelan, and having so many aunties and
different people around me, woman celebratingwomanhood and celebrating togetherness was really is really
kind of who I am. It'snot something I have to force, it's
not something I have to try tobe. And so with my business,
(10:39):
I knew that I always wanted tomake sure and celebrate other women, and
I always make make sure and takea look and see how is it.
See, here's the thing about celebratingother people. If it comes naturally to
you. It doesn't feel like work, right and so and I realized VJ
Media, I can't do it alone, nor do I want to. So
I created events like VJ Media Mixologyand VJIA is Women of Impact in her
(11:01):
every year in South Florida, whichyou should definitely come to. And I
want to talk to about food,wine in fact too because I should be
there. You should be there forthat. Yeah. Really just giving a
chance to celebrate other women. Andwhat I've realized in the last ten years
is celebrating other women really means growingyour network, growing your community. When
you start to celebrate other people andyou're joyous about it, things just flow
(11:22):
to you and you're constantly having togo, hey, wait a minute,
this is fantastic. Oh you knowwhat, it's it's not a good fit
for me. But I would loveto introduce you to Stacey. I would
love to introduce it to Angela.So that's you know again, I started
to do it and love it,and now events it's it's time again for
VJ Media post pandemic to start doingthese events again. And our first ones
coming up this May and it's acelebration of Caribbean women Caribbean community Allay in
(11:46):
Miami there when you coach women femaleentrepreneurs, what are some of the things
that you're like, oh this again, like what do you think are some
of the things coming up of thingsthat repetitively Definitely the business part of things,
like making sure they have their businessand their money in order, and
making sure that things are trademarked,making sure that they have their It's not
(12:09):
just about okay, so, hey, bj, I want to start a
business. It's about okay, great, I'm so excited for you. Let's
talk about this blueprint of your business. What does it look like, what
does it feel like? What doyou want your business to feel like to
the world. Right, it's veryimportant for things to feel good once you
get past that blueprint. Now,let's firm things up, sis. Okay,
let's make sure you have it llcedor ES Corporate Incorporated based on you
(12:31):
know, your style of business.Let's make sure you have a little bit
of funding, and if you don't, let's see where you can get some
grants locally to help you springboard.Right, Let's look at the other women
in your community and other people inyour community that you can lean on for
graphics or you know, production oryour website, because you can't do it
all alone now, right, Soit's really about how you create that network
(12:52):
so that you can spring forward becauseso often, especially for me, when
I first started, I was everything. I was the webmaster, the content,
I was the graphic designer doing thevoiceovers all day. Growing. No,
it's not a good thing. Youwear yourself out, and also you
wear your creativity out when you doit and approach it that way. Now,
Vanessa, you also, by theway, talk a lot about networking,
(13:16):
and that's been really instrumental to youbeing able to start your own business.
Even before you were starting your business, you had great relationships with people
with clients. So how did youfigure out when it was time for you
to start your own company? Approachingthese clients and knowing the value of what
it is that you're bringing to thetable, because I think those financial conversations,
(13:37):
initially for some people can be difficultto have, and also knowing,
Okay, what is the price forthis and how do I properly price this?
I remember, I'll give you aperfect example. So baby Sam,
we all know and love her.Oh yes, a girl. So I
used to voice a lot of RCAalbum releases, Usher, Anthony Hamilton,
(13:58):
A Keys, I mean a lot, anything that you knew would come out,
they'd always send it my way andshe would come to me and she
would say, like obviously knowing herfrom radio, well you're really good at
what you do. I want youto voice these projects for me, and
I would never know how to pricethem. How do you price the Usher
album release? I don't know,you know what I mean. It's taking
me about an hour to do thiswork. How do I price it?
(14:20):
So that's when I realized that wastwenty and eleven, twenty twelve. Like
BJ, you got to just askpeople and stop just assuming. Because I
was for a couple of those albumreleases underpricing myself and other projects like that.
I think when you don't know,it's okay to say hey, I
don't know and reach out to differentpeople in your community. At that time,
(14:41):
Juliet Jones and a couple of VJhere's what you should be charging,
you know what I'm saying. Sohere's where this particular spot is going to
run in all these markets and television, radio, and this is what the
cost is. As a business personthat you should be charging for this.
So when you don't know, especiallywhen it comes to pricing, especially as
women reach out to other people,well, reach out to strangers if you
need to, and I mean thepower of social media is real. To
(15:03):
make sure you're asking those questions.Yeah, absolutely, so that you make
you know, make sure you're pricingyourself appropriately. So what is next for
you? You have these events,you have everything, wipe it back up,
back up. And one thing Iwant to unpack that you mentioned unpackaged,
Stacy, Let's unpack it. Youmentioned local grants. Yeah, and
(15:26):
that's something so few people think about. Talk about that, preach about it,
preach about it. Okay, Solocal grants are so important, especially
women owned businesses that are listening tothe sound of my voice. Whatever market
you're in here in New York,suburbs of New York, this is you
know, a global show as well. Think about all the different things that
you do, and especially if you'rejust getting started in your business, there
(15:48):
are companies that are looking to justgive money away because it's a write off
for them, specifically in your city, in your you know, in your
area. And then also local businessesthat fund and support other women in the
form of grants. So what Iwould say to you to do is google
local grants for women in Miami andsee what pops up and take a look
(16:08):
at those. When I first wasgetting started, I had applied for two.
I got one. I think itwas like five thousand dollars, but
I used that five thousand dollars.And now the grant process is very laborious,
so you have to be prepared tohave all those documents to prove that
your woman owned at least fifty percent, and that you you know, if
you have employees or if it's justyou, all those things. You have
to make sure all your ducks arethe blueprint I was talking about, make
(16:30):
sure you have that altogether first.But then you can apply, and you'd
be surprised how many businesses and howmany resources there are out there to help
support other women. Yeah, sometimespeople don't apply for some of these guys
are so few that it makes ita lot easier exactly for you to They're
like, how come no one's applied, especially if you qualify you and you
check all those boxes. It's veryimportant. How has your business changed throughout
(16:52):
the years, because when you firststarted it back in was it twenty ten.
It's different than where you are now. So what are some things that
you learned along the way. Youtalk about being malleable, So discuss that
as far as Vanessa James Media andwhat you've learned you needed to add to
your business or maybe things that mayhave you know, timing wise, maybe
(17:12):
this isn't as important as this.For me, for sure, I needed
to add a staff. I neededto add a team first and foremost,
I needed to add a publicist.I needed to add people that were creative,
that could think about things different thanI was thinking about them. Again,
for me, VJ Media is isshe's I say, she's now,
(17:32):
you know, in her teenage phasebecause she's thirteen. She's been through some
things, some growing pains. Butnow she's like ready, she's got the
she's got the mini blazer on,she's ready to rock, she's ready to
roar. The thing that I've learnedis that not only can I not do
it alone, I don't want toin order for me to grow and build
it. Like I remember, forquite some time, I would be like,
oh my god, I got togive this agent ten percent. Now
(17:53):
I'm like, take the ten percentto your job. Do your job.
Take the ten percent and and Iwill gladly keep working. And because as
I'm working, I'm polishing, I'mgrowing, I'm changing, I'm you know,
evolving as well. So to me, the number one thing that I
can I can sell somebody, especiallybeing in business for over a decade,
is find people. Find a team, even if it's just two to three
(18:15):
people that believe in you, andthat understand where you're going and can grow
and flourish with you. And don'tbe afraid to pay them, pay people
to help you, you know,because time is the one thing that and
the one asset I don't have.Like, literally, I'm planning a food
festival. I'm in New York tonight, guys. She's planning a food literally
my food online festival celebrating Caribbean chefsand artists and creative of that. But
(18:41):
no, but I wouldn't be ableto do that without a really good team
and staff that I know has thingscovered while I'm not there, you know.
So that's what I mean. I'mgoing to ask you to give our
audience free advice. I would loveto for this. What you basically have
a business by creating content and usingthat content to build your brand. A
lot of people have to build theirbrands on social media, right, what
(19:03):
are some tips that you have forpeople on the type of content they can
be creating and using social media forthat brand building? Get client purpose.
I think think about what it isthat again, you're trying to put out
in the world. What is becauseat the end of the day, the
content is leading people back to aplace. Is it that you have a
website of services that you're offering.Is it a product that you're offering,
(19:25):
So that content is really just somethingthat you're amplifying. You're amplifying yourself as
a business. You know, forme, it's me as a as a
multimedia personality and vo actress first,right, and that's what you see when
you go to my social because that'swhat I want to promote. But the
end of the day, think aboutsocial really is just a mirror of all
the different things that you're doing,Right, It's your highlight reel. Like
(19:48):
I like to say, so,at the end of the day, make
sure that if it's that you're businessexcuse me, if it's that you are
a business person, make sure thatit's reflecting and promoting the business services that
you offer because so many people areon social medi people and I'm like,
wait, are you you know it'ssays handle, what do you offer?
What can I purchase? You knowwhat I'm saying, totally you got that
everybody? Yeah, I was free. People pay her for that kind of
(20:11):
a free tea, free t Howdo you work and collaborate with some of
these huge brands? Oh yeah,you've had as your clients. So that's
the one thing that's probably the numberone question that I get asked. Because
I do work with a lot ofbrands. I get asked all the times.
I'm sure you do all the timeas well about brand collaborations. So
brands, especially if you're on socialand you're a social person and it's an
(20:33):
asset that you're offering, a lotof times will come to you. And
so the reason I especially auto brands. I work with quite a few auto
brands, and they came to mebecause in South Florida, I was one
of the only people that was crosspromoting and celebrating other women and bringing them
together at events. So they're like, we want to be where the women
are because the women purchase the cars, right, And so again, think
about what it is that you're offeringreach out to brands, to their multicultural
(20:56):
directors, to their agency. That'swhere people should start with our multicultural Well,
if you're a person of color,definitely yeah, or if your general
market then but you want to makesure you're reaching out to people that can
make decisions as it relates to thatbrand's dollars in the market, that you're
doing something right. So if it'sthat you're listening to us and you're in
New Jersey and you want to putsomething together and you want support from a
(21:18):
brand, make sure that that makessure you're reaching out to the representative of
the person in New Jersey that canhelp assist you. And you can find
this on LinkedIn, you can findit on their socials, you can find
I mean, it's at the endof the day, we're very interconnected.
If you pay attention and you loveit's such a valuable it is. I've
gotten so many jobs and speech,especially speaking engagements, and that's why it's
(21:41):
important. How your whole profile isset up on there as well too,
and you're responding absolutely all the time. I'm so bad, I'm last time
you posted was December. Up hereto keep us accountable exactly, exactly,
(22:03):
personal, personal, exactly. Well, I want to also make sure that
people can figure out how they canget involved with the food and wine food
wine. Okay, can we havea moment because I as I know that
you are here to talk to meabout me, but can we have a
moment to celebrate your love for allthings caribbeaness and Soca and kess. My
boyfriend my side man, he hasa boo. I have a boo,
(22:26):
but that is my whole side man. Okay, No, So so I
mean soca and So we are doingan event VJ Media Productions. I'm so
excited about it. We did itin twenty nineteen. It was the first
one. It was really just atest to see, like, as much
as I love events, and youknow, is there a way I can
kind of bring all the things Ilove about my Caribbean community together in South
Florida and celebrate. So we didfood, wine, and FT. We
(22:48):
trademarked it, we coined it,we all all those things, and then
we put it together. Well fivehundred people showed up and they were like,
this is amazing. That's a nice. Yes, that's a nice and
I like the way, by theway started off. It wasn't like a
huge no, you let it see, like you said, a test,
let's test, let's see how itdoes in the markets. Throw it.
Yeah, and you know, ye, it's crazy because you would. One
(23:11):
thing I love about my Caribbean community. They love not just to fet,
but a fet with a purpose issomething that they take very personal too.
So I love that people are nowcoming together saying, hey, wait a
minute, I want my chef tobe a part of this. I want
my wine to be a part ofthis. I want you know, my
chocolates to be a part of this. It's it's amazing. So it's a
it's a it's a love language tomy Caribbean community here in South in South
Florida and listening everywhere. And it'sfood, Wine and Fed is happening Saturday,
(23:34):
May eighteenth in Miami. I wouldlove for you to come and take
a line as as they'll go tosign up for all this stuff. Food
Wine, infed dot com. Easytogether. Hello, we just had a
whole business conversation foodwanafe dot com.Uh, hell Media, what's your website?
Because all Jamesmedia dot com. That'swhat I was trying. Yeah,
yeah, yeah, yeah, that'smedia dot Com for all things BJ well
(23:57):
we are all things Vanessa things.We can't wait to come to all these
Yes one in fact, you knowthat's right up my alley. Know I'm
trying to get Chef JJ there becauseI just saw you with him, soby
one, yeah out there. Andthen I always do the one here in
New York as well, but youknow, not my Angela y Day,
which is all celebrating Caribbean cu Iknow as well, I don't know about
(24:19):
this Angela Day. I haven't beeninvited. I haven't I haven't been but
when is it? Because I needto be there the actual day. I
know it's community driven, which isamazing. Why that gave me my own
day, which is August twenty eighth. Okay, so there's a kind of
floats around depending on availability because it'llbe at the Barclays in the square in
the front. But yes, mymother's Caribbean from Montserrat and it's also right
(24:42):
around the West Indian American Day Parade, so I kind of wanted that to
be a precursor, very family oriented. I'm from Brooklyn, you know,
Brooklyn is like a is little Caribbeanhere in New York and so that's the
reason why that, and then youknow, celebrating my own culture too that
I grew up, that I grewup on as well. So that's why
I'm excited for that. Caribbean foodis my number one favorite type of food.
(25:04):
Okay, so let's talk about it, Okayriban food and day turns tonight,
Okay, and everybody, Caribbean doesnot only mean to make in food.
No, it's not right. No, Okay, But you know Melissa
from the Grill, she's Chiney.Dahlia used to own Tilly's. I feel
like a lot of my friends areTrainny. Yes, and so even my
makeup artist she's Trainny. So alot of the people who are around me.
(25:29):
So I will say, I do, and you can't. You can't
get away from it. I can'tescape it. Have you been to Carnival
yet? I have not. I'mactually going to Thomas. I'm going to
say, Thomas Carnival, You're gonnalove it. I missed Trinidad this year,
but I love St. Thomas.I feel like next for Trinidad,
you have to really be ready.Not only do you have to be ready,
you have to prepare yourself mentally,physically and financially stacy because it's an
Investmentidad Cannibal is not for you tolord, meaning you can't be like half
(25:55):
step in it. You gotta it'sit's a commitment. It's like the super
Bowl of carnivals, right, yougot it, so like a month before.
You got to get through the playoffsfirst, and you gotta qualify before.
Yes, but yes, it's amazing. It'll change your life. You're
amazing, and we appreciate you forcoming things. You are just like a
breath of fresh air. Thank you. I'm so honored to be here,
(26:15):
and even just for you being inthe business that I'm in, you know,
that is amazing to me, justto see how you've managed to do
that, because sometimes it is scaryto leave this safety net of having a
day job. You know, Itry to do both. I try to
like fund everything I have going onwith my my day job also, you
know, because I do love whatI do. But I think that it's
(26:37):
very admirable and commendable that you havethese great relationships here that have transferred over
to VJ Media also so that theyalready still are going to be using you.
Our clients of yours just because ofhow you've sown those seeds. Well,
thank you. That's an important thingfor anybody right now who has a
nine to five that's trying to figureout starting their own thing, start with
that nine to nive and see howthey can become your client. Absolutely,
(27:00):
that's the first that's the first placeI looked. Mm hmmm. That's why
you can't mess up at work tryingto do Yes, I hustle too,
Yeah, come on, And that'swhy it's important to be good to people,
because they don't forget how you makethem feel. I read I was
listening to you get interviewed, andyou said your mother told you that treat
the janitor and the CEO the same, the same, absolutely, with the
same respect. Yes, absolutely,don't treat them both. Don't treat them
(27:23):
both. No, no, no, no, no respect. Well,
thank you so much. We reallyappreciate you, and we're looking forward to
doing more with you in the future. Same. Can't get forward to it,
can't wait for all your events.Okay, thank you Stacey, Thank
you Angela for having me. Ofcourse, thank you
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