May 14, 2025 • 59 mins
Hey Angels!
Ready to live boldly and create the life you actually want? In this fire episode of Quality Queen Control, Asha Christina sits down with Marty McDonald, CEO of Boss Women Media and Elle Olivia (sold in 400+ Target stores!), and author of the new best selling book "Audacious".
Marty spills her secrets on going after big dreams with fearless energy, from pitching a gummy bear flavor to a CEO to building a movement for ambitious women. Get ready for real talk, practical tips, and inspiration to embrace your audacious side and design a life that’s unapologetically YOURS.
Tune in and let’s start living bold!
Ready to live boldly and create the life you actually want? In this fire episode of Quality Queen Control, Asha Christina sits down with Marty McDonald, CEO of Boss Women Media and Elle Olivia (sold in 400+ Target stores!), and author of the new best selling book "Audacious".
Marty spills her secrets on going after big dreams with fearless energy, from pitching a gummy bear flavor to a CEO to building a movement for ambitious women. Get ready for real talk, practical tips, and inspiration to embrace your audacious side and design a life that’s unapologetically YOURS.
Tune in and let’s start living bold!
- What You’ll Learn: How to chase your wildest dreams, overcome fear, and take bold action to build your dream life.
- Join the A-Team: Rate, review, and follow! Keep with Asha @ashachristinafoster on Instagram for more.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
You have to see yourself in this world. You have
to see what is possible because someone went before you
and you're bringing up someone behind you. Representation is critical.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Yeah, hey babe, it's Asha Christina. This is Quality Queen Control.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
What is happening?
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Okay, let's welcome Marty McDonald to Quality Queen Control.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Oh my goodness, thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Oh my gosh, what an exciting episode that we have today.
I want you to take me back, like, who is
Marty McDonald? What is the genesis of your story of
how you got into the place that you're in right now?
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Oh, listen, it is not I would like to say,
you know this one thing happened, but that's boring. Great. So,
I am a girl from ten s who I like
to say always knew more existed. I grew up in
(01:08):
a single parent household. Hardship is not unfamiliar to me.
But yet, in spite of it, I always knew my
north star was going to be so bright. Not because
I saw it, not because anyone gave me a blueprint
for it, not because I had the right connections, not
because I even knew what to do myself, but because
(01:32):
I desired it and I did all the quote unquote
right things right. I went to the right school, I
went back to school and got my MBA, I got
the job, and then I found myself sitting in corporate
America thinking this cannot be it right, This cannot be
(01:56):
what generational wealth looks like, This cannot be what freedom
looks like. This cannot be the pathway for success for me.
And it was simply because I didn't see myself. I
didn't see myself sitting in spaces and places that I
desired to be in. I didn't see anybody who came
(02:16):
from where I came from, sitting in spaces and places
that I desired to be in. And because I didn't
see myself, because it didn't fulfill my soul, because I
knew that more existed, I made an exit December one,
twenty seventeen to go and bet on Marty. And what
(02:37):
that looked like at the time was me creating a
space where women could be resourced, women could see and
hear their story that it existed, that they're more existed
for them, through a media company called Boss Women Media.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
So what was your corporate job? What did that entail?
So my background was marketing, so I product innovation, brand development,
mainly in like the restaurant in CpG, consumer product good
space was were the breadth of my experience of working.
(03:18):
But my actual degree, my bachelor's degree was in interior
design and architecture, and then I went back to school
and got my MBA.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
Wow, wow, we love an accomplished woman. Okay, So then
speaking of can you share your personal journey of how
Boston Media and El Olivia came to life?
Speaker 1 (03:42):
Yeah, two very unique stories, two very unique journeys. But
when I was sitting in corporate America, I remember I
went to this event and the event was so buttoned up.
Everyone were black and blue and gray. It was very corporate, right,
(04:03):
And I remember sitting at this event just wanting to
be myself so bad, you know, and instead you just
had to handshake and tell everybody what you did right,
and you had to lead with your title, and you
never could lead with who you authentically was. And because
I just didn't want to play this game, I was like, man,
(04:25):
there got to be something else, right. And it's crazy
because at that time it really didn't exist. This thing
that I wanted so bad didn't exist anywhere. Fast forward
probably six months later, I ended up going to this
conference that was more millennial base, and it definitely was
not a space that looked like us. But I remember
(04:46):
going into this environment and in this space and it
felt relaxed, but it felt accomplished. It felt free, but
yet people were making deals right And I thought, what
if this space existed for women who looked like me?
And that was my first feeling and experience of this
(05:10):
is the blueprint of what I want to go create,
and I want to go create it for our community.
And so that was what I was marching against when
I was building Boswoman Media. That experience that I had,
and I had compared it to the experience of black
blue gray. So at Boswoman and Media, I make sure
(05:31):
that we never wear black blue gray, right like I
make sure that I'm creating an environment that you are
welcome in, but most importantly that you are seen in
because a lot of folks aren't seen and people want
to be seen. And so Bosiwoman and Media welcomes you
where you are today so that you are seen. You
don't have to leave with your title. You're in a
(05:53):
safe space. And as I, you know, knew that that
was kind of what I was building the origin from
right that I knew that the DNA would be created from.
You know, we just kept building. But there was something
that happened really instrumental in the middle of me having this.
(06:13):
And I was working on a project sitting in Corporate America,
so I was voting Boston. I was working, so it
was my side hustle. I was working on a project
sitting in corporate America, and I made a huge mistake
on this project. And it was going out to like
I think six or seven hundred restaurants that I didn't
like spell check something from, and there was all of
(06:36):
this like point of sale material that was going out
and it was my fault, right, and I had to
take responsibility for it. And as I held this weight
of taking the responsibility for something that I did not like,
really check with my ego eye, I remember thinking, how
(07:00):
many more times am I gonna accept how they make
me feel if I don't do something according to their standards?
That was really what they say, the campbell, the straw
that on the Campbell bag, whatever, And that's when I
made my exit. When I made my exit, I was
(07:22):
so on fire to prove them wrong. Now, I'm my
big age. I don't I don't care about proving anybody wrong.
But at that time, and at that point in my career,
I was so on fire to prove them wrong. So
me and a friend went to a conference in LA
called the Girl Boss Rally. At this conference, we met
(07:44):
so many incredible people. It was such a good time.
But I remember going into a breakout room where I
met the CEO of a high end confectionery company, and
as she's sitting on a panel. She was sitting on
the panel with probably two or three influencers that were
like really big influencers. And of course after the panel's over,
(08:08):
everybody runs up to the influencers to take the picture
for the gram. But I didn't run up to the
influencers because I could care less. I was trying to
build something. Yes, And I go up to the CEO
and I remember looking at her because she was on
this panel talking about we create taboo gummy bears, and
I thought, man, she could create a gummy bear called
black Girl Magic, and I will help her bring a
(08:32):
community of women to her stores through this gummy bear.
And I had just read this Nielsen data report because
my background was marketing in corporate and I would always
lead with data if I was pitching inside of my corporation.
So I went up to her afterwards and I said, Hey,
(08:53):
do you know what black girl magic is? And this
is in twenty eighteen. Wow, nobody's saying bikroal magic out loud,
like it almost is like this taboo thing. And she
responds to me and says, can I say that? Am
I allowed to say that? And I said, listen, bicirl
(09:15):
magic is a buying power. It is a rallying call
and a buying power of women who are not being
seen or spoken to right now. And there is a
missed opportunity on your bottom line that you are not
fulfilling by not speaking to her. We should create a
gummy beer together called block roll Magic. This gummy beer,
(09:38):
we're going to have it, have my community of women
come to your stores, and we're gonna do experiences around it.
And this lady goes she was so intrigued, but so cautious,
and then she was like, who is this girl? Like
what is she want in the world? But I was
so bold, I was so audacious, and I had nothing
(09:58):
to lose because I had so much to prove Wow,
And she goes send me an email and it was
like contact. It was like some generic email and I
had on the airplane back home and I said, I'm
going to send her an email and that email was
the pitch deck that literally changed everything about my business.
(10:19):
I sent her an email, I created a pitch deck.
I mapped out the whole process. It took her six
weeks to respond to me. Wow. When she responded to
me six weeks later, she approved for us to do
a five city tour called the Black Girl Magic Tour,
and I popped up in five different cities across the US.
That five city tour ended up being a beta case
(10:42):
for me because I took all of my learnings, all
of the data, and it was such an incredible experience,
and I pitched it to a financial service institute that
then led me to link to gaining my first six
figure deal by me saying I did a five city tour,
(11:02):
these are the learnings, and you guys should come with
me and we should do a seven city tour and
we should do this. And I had that experience to
be able to go and share to get more opportunity.
But if I had have never done it if I
had have sat there on my idea, if I didn't
stand up and be bold, if I didn't believe in myself,
if I got discouraged when I got that generic email,
(11:25):
if I, if I, if I, if I, if I right,
then none of it would be I wouldn't be sitting
here with you today. And so that is the origin
story of boss Woman Media.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
Oh my gosh, I am in absolute awe by that
because and we'll get into your book a little bit later,
but again, that is like audacity right there, especially in
a world whereas women we are honestly really told to
shrink ourselves, don't speak up, don't be too loud, don't
be this, And it's like, wow, you went for it.
(12:00):
That is like very inspiring to me because I often
find myself sometimes like I have such an outgoing personality,
but I find that like I sometimes want to shrink
if someone's like, oh, like what do you do? And
I'm just like a little shy and nervous, and I'm like,
what is this that's coming up? That I feel like
I can't just go for it and be audacious, even
(12:20):
if I'm not familiar with a certain you know, job
or community, you have to ask questions. You know, you
have to really like advocate for yourself because who else
will you know do that for you? And so one
of the things that I also notice is that a
lot of the people that have built like strong brand
(12:42):
awareness and companies all have like a background in marketing
and things like that. Would you say that is something
that has significantly helped you as you were acquiring all
this business acumen and navigating through the journey of creating
boss Woman Media.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
You know, I would say yes, and right yes, it
helped me visualize and tell the story. The biggest takeaway
that I got from Corporate America, whether I was sitting
in marketing or operations or accounting, whatever area you're sitting in,
you have to pitch people ideas, whether that's to use
(13:23):
a new solution if you're in accounting, right, or to
pitch to do this new product if you're in marketing right.
That was what I learned from Corporate America. I learned
how to bring people along to my story. I learned
how to bring people along to doing what I needed
them to do. I learned how to bring people alone
(13:46):
in a cross functional collaborative manner that helped them see
the bigger picture, and that was a skill that was
invaluable for my business one thousand percent. So whether I
was sitting in marketing or whatever. Right, I've always been
a creative naturally, but I'm one of these like uniorcorn creatives.
(14:08):
I'm a creative and I execute and most don't go together, right,
Like normally creative sit on the ideas. No, if I
get an idea, I'm definitely like, oh, no, we're doing
this today, let's go right type of person. So that's
what I'll say, That's what I would say. I would say,
I've learned how to storytell in some of the most
(14:29):
powerful ways where folks don't see me first, they see
themselves first, and that helps galvanize people into taking the project,
on doing the thing, etc.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
That's amazing. And I think there's also so much power
in collaboration, right, I think that's something that I mean,
I guess even in the influencing space. I remember growing
up the early influencers, a lot of them would collaborate
with each other. But then and there seemed to be
this negative connotation around collaborating because it was kind of
(15:06):
viewed as like, oh, clout chasing, or you don't want
someone to feel like they put you onto something. And
I think that that negative stereotype or stigma need it
honestly does more harm than anything, because no man is
an island, and there's always a skill set that someone
else possesses. And when you play to your strengths, there
(15:28):
is so much power in collaboration because you know what
you're bringing and you know without those other individuals are bringing.
And So you talk a lot about betting on yourself.
What did that look like for you in your most
uncertain moments, because in business it's not always just linear.
(15:51):
You know, there's ups and there's downs. So talk to
me about certain struggles that you faced and how you
had that resilience to just keep on showing up and
betting on yourself.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
Yeah. You know, I've always had an incredible vision for
what I'm building right, and I can't unsee it right.
But even in the moments when it does feel a
little cloudy, there's a whisper that goes alongside me, and
I know that that is God that says, just keep going, Marty,
(16:24):
just trust me in this right when I don't know
where the funds are gonna come from when I don't
know where the people are gonna come, because I'm popping
up in a whole new city that I don't necessarily
know all the folks. When I first started that five
city tour, we did New York, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta. In LA,
(16:46):
I had built a community in Dallas and that was it.
I didn't have a community in LA. But LA was
packed to the brim. It was people standing on the
outside of LA.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
Right.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
All I heard the whisper was keep going, Keep going
with your roll up banner and your suitcase and your
balloon guy and your social media girl. Keep going when
you don't know all of the things that are going
to happen, right, keep going when it feels really hard
and you just want to give up because you're tired
and you just actually need to take a break instead,
(17:23):
keep going, right. And so that's what betting on yourself
looks like. It looks like continuing on the journey, on
the journey, regardless if you got it all figured out
or not. And so that's the encouragement I want to
give to women, to me and to anybody that if
(17:45):
you believe it, all you need to do is just
keep going. I wear these bracelets, these mantra bands, and
one of them says, just keep swimming. And I believe
that that's just what I'm doing right and right now my
life look real different at home. So not only do
I have a business at seven years old, right, I
(18:08):
have a four year old and I have twins that
are twenty months old. And my life is full and
it is busy, and and all I'm hearing right now
was God told me even though I'm tired. Now, I've
just I've been city hopping. I was in Charlotte last week.
I'm in Chicago in another week. I'm like, all I
(18:29):
keep hearing him say is Marty, just keep going. The
fruits of your labor are going to pay off for you.
I just need you to know that you just need
to keep going. And just because I've been doing it
for some time doesn't mean I don't need the encouragement either,
to know that you know that this there is a
reward at the end that my cup will run over
(18:52):
that exceedingly abundantly above all exists for me. But to
that person, just just keep going. Once you have your vision,
that is all you need. Don't talk about it, don't
write it. Down no more in your notebook, don't take
no more notes on it, don't ask tim more friends
(19:15):
about it. You don't need to do any of those things.
You just need to take one step forward and keep going. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
Would you say also in that collaboration that you did
with Black Girl Magic Gummies, that when you receive that yes,
where you're like, oh man, crap, now I really got
to execute, Like how am I going to keep this going?
Was there any part of you that felt like that?
Speaker 1 (19:41):
Heck? Yes, man what she said? Yes? But I still
had to fund it. She gave me her space. We
did the gummy back together, but I still had to
get to five cities. I hired pr in five cities.
I hired speakers in five cities because we took her
store over and basically did breakout panels and sessions that
(20:05):
entire day. I hired influencers in all of those five cities.
So one thousand percent I didn't know. I didn't know,
But along me not knowing is where the beauty comes
into place. That's where this thing that I am so
connected to happens. The miraculous works. Right, It's like are
(20:29):
you God or are you? Are you moving off of
the vision that He gave you. And for me, I
have to check myself all the time. I am not God.
I am moving off of the vision that God has
for me, and so the vision that God has for me. Unfortunately,
(20:51):
sometimes it don't tell you every step to take from ABCD,
and sometimes you have to go from A to G
and you don't hear nothing. But you just have to
keep going, right, So girl, what self doubt? Yes, been
there lived on that street. Don't want those lessons no more? Right?
(21:16):
Not knowing fear? What fear don't go away, It just
gets bigger and it escalates in a different way as
you evolve and you know how to deal with the
fears that may have tried to hold you. My past
fears are my childhood fears. Okay, I know how to
handle you now, right, But the fears of growing an
(21:36):
eight figure business that's totally different, right, And so you
have to evolve with all of it. You have to
keep moving in all of it. And you have to
know that I don't have the know all of the answers.
I hate the entrepreneurs who, especially right now, are take
(21:58):
take this posture. They have it all figured out and
they don't leave room for any type of miraculous work
to happen. Right, Yeah, it's like that's actually a myth.
They're lying. And if if you're seeing entrepreneurs like that
show up, run away from them, I wouldn't take advice
from them because they're not telling the truth about this
(22:20):
whole story. This is hard. Building anything from scratch is
incredibly difficult. But your mindset has to be stronger than
the challenge that is in front of you. Wow, I
love that.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
And even in regards to let's just say capital. So
you're first, you landed that six figure deal and moving
forward from that, was that six figures went in your pocket?
Or was that six figures? Okay, I'm giving you this
budget of six figures. Now you need to allocate this
(22:54):
and create something from it. What does that look like
in terms of that business model?
Speaker 1 (23:01):
Yeah? So you know, when we first started from the
perspective of organizations would pay for the programs that we
would develop for them, right, So whether that was a tour,
a summit, right, they were our sponsors for it, right,
And so everything still has to get paid. Everything's so
(23:21):
that no, I'm not taking home six figures by any means, right,
it's going to the company and the organization to essentially
develop what we agreed to in the contract. Right, and
if it costs more than six figures, guess who's responsible
for me. I'm still responsible for no matter what the
(23:45):
cost is, to deliver what I told them I was
going to deliver upon So, say a company gives you
a check for fifty thousand dollars, but it actually costs
seventy five thousand dollars. Right, But they're one sponsor. They
gave you one check, right, and if you didn't sign
an agreement with them that they're not only the only sponsor,
(24:06):
the only sponsor that can be a part of it.
Is your job to go and get other partners or
so tickets or find different ways to build the revenue
stream out and what you're going to deliver. But oh,
by the way, if I don't deliver what I say,
I got to give that fifty thousand dollars back, then
I have no money. Then it's zero or I'm in
the deficit. Right And so you girl, the lessons that
(24:33):
I have learned around how much things cost, the times
in which I've said it would cost this, but it
actually costs this, And I've eaten right in order to
save face, in order to continue to build the brand,
in order to continue to serve the community. And in
(24:53):
all of that, I've been so so clear with this
message of not capitalizing off of my community. So most
of our programs that we do, our community has experienced
over the last seven years at either a free cost
or a very low price, and so that's helped us
(25:14):
build the community of course, and me saying you know what,
I Am going to go after the corporations that want
to deliver this type of programming to our community for
it to be on their backs to make sure that
they have the revenue given to us to be able
(25:34):
to put that forth.
Speaker 2 (25:36):
Oh that makes a lot of sense. Wow, Okay, And
how can someone actually start to build, you know, confidence
even when they're facing fear or even self doubt throughout
navigating being a boss woman?
Speaker 1 (25:53):
One of my most proven confidence building the skills that
I love to share with other women, especially when they
come out of a toxic environment, an environment that they
may have felt like an impostor, in an environment that
didn't affirm them, or an environment that really condemned them
(26:14):
in a lot of ways. I love to tell them
to go get in an environment where it might be
a volunteer service space rather that's a shelter or your
church or a local organization, and the skill that is
your superpower lean that into them. So for me, when
(26:39):
I first started, it was me leaning into my church
and sert and helping serve the women's ministry at my
church because I had come from this environment in corporate
that in a lot of ways had broken me right
of me thinking I'm not good enough, Should I be here,
et cetera, et cetera. When I did that and everything
(27:02):
I did in that environment, it was it was so
good to them. It was so great, and it was
so great for them. It was an added value for them.
They began to affirm me in it, and with that
affirmation that allowed my confidence muscle to flex. It was
like I was exercising my confidence every single day. And
(27:24):
then when I would go out into a corporation and
I pitched my idea right and they said, no, I
still have I didn't. I didn't wither up and die
because I had placed myself in an environment where I
could be affirmed. That really kind of built me back
up to face all of the nose that will be
(27:47):
out there that it's inevitable that we will face and
so that's I would say that what that is such
a key strategy in how someone can build their confidence
levels up. Place yourself in an environment that will affirm
you for a season. I love that. Wow.
Speaker 2 (28:07):
So what mistakes do you feel like you see people
making when they are trying to brand themselves or even
pitch their ideas.
Speaker 1 (28:17):
I think the number one thing that people do when
they're trying to pitch their ideas is they make it
about them. Right. They never put the other company's logo.
They have their logo on everything, right. They didn't take
out take the time out to really tell the full
story or show the whole scope of work. Right. They
(28:38):
let with them first, and they never asked what the
company's goals and objectives are. They don't even know how
they align to what they're being pitched in front of.
And so the best way to come back that is
when you are pitching yourself or a brand that you're building,
and you're in conversation with another brand, the number one
(29:01):
question you need to ask them is what are your
goals and objectives for the year? Before you go out
and start talking about what you want to do right.
Nobody cares what you want to do. These companies want
to know how can they move their bottom line right? Period?
That is it. And if you can help solve for
(29:22):
how they can move their bottom line or make the
community impact that they need to make or whatever, if
it hits in the lines with their mission and their values,
that's where you need to lead when you're pitching your ideas.
Speaker 2 (29:36):
Wow wow, So then leading more into the power of
the pitch right. First of all, getting your brand into
target is huge. Okay, congratulations. Can you actually walk us
through what that pitch process looks like?
Speaker 1 (29:54):
Okay? So I shared my origin story of Bostman Media.
I didn't share it with Ell Olivia. So Ell Olivia's
origin story goes like this. I get pregnant with my
first daughter in twenty twenty. Me and my husband have
been having a couple of miscarriages before, so it was
such a really interesting time to be pregnant in the
(30:17):
isolation of a pandemic. And when I was twenty four
weeks pregnant, I got diagnosed with something Elle did. My
daughter got diagnosed with something during my pregnancy called congenital
diaphrantic hernia. Which basically meant that Elle spleen, her liver,
and her intestines were in her chest covering her lungs,
(30:43):
and her lungs were not able to fully develop, and
that we would have to have a surgery to move
everything in its right place if she was healthy enough
when she would be born, which then led me to
having to change where we were going to deliver her,
and so instead of delivering her at the private hospital
(31:04):
that I expected, we ended up having to deliver her
at the county hospital. And that county hospital comes with
all the stigmas that our community faces, and it was
such a slap in my face and an awakening all
at the same time of are you living in a bubble?
(31:25):
It's people who are experiencing life out here, and just
because you've not experienced it in that manner in such
a some time doesn't mean it doesn't still exist. So
when I would go to the hospital, I would get
questions like are you on welfare? Are you married? Are
(31:45):
you on food stamps?
Speaker 2 (31:46):
Like?
Speaker 1 (31:47):
And I was just like so taken back by. I
was so taken back. I just thought it was so offensive.
I thought, I'm a I'm pregnant right like, But it
was just a part of the system, and so we
ended up delivering at that county hospital because it was
connected to the children's hospital and it would be safer
for her to deliver there than for her to be
(32:09):
life flighted because they did not know how healthy she
would be. But fortunately she ended up crying when she
was born, which meant that her lungs actually did work.
And three days later after she was born, we had
a surgery to move everything in its right place, and
then we stayed in the NICKU for thirty five days.
(32:31):
That nick You experience was something that really left the scar,
and I think will forever have a scar on me
of the disparities that happened in the healthcare system. And
I quickly learned what my purpose was supposed to be
as her mom. And as I went to that NICKU
(32:53):
every single day for thirty five days, I spent a
night at home. One night that entire thirty five period
us up in a hospital chair right after delivering a
baby vaginally, right And that nick You experience taught me
how important representation is. Yes and we say it, and
(33:15):
we live in a world right now where it's such
a climax of it all but it is so important. Girl.
You have to see yourself in this world. You have
to see what is possible because someone went before you
and you're bringing up someone behind you. Representation is critical. Yeah,
it is a strategy, right, It is a strategy, and
(33:37):
how I am raising my children. And so when we
looked around that hospital, nobody look like us, and that
threw me in so many ways. There were people of
color there, but there was no one who looked like
me and my family, or there was no one in
leadership that looked like me and my family either, And
(33:57):
I thought, well, then they don't know the challenges and
this is why they're asking these questions like and I'm
just thinking of all of the ways in which to
solve this. And the other lesson that I learned while
I was there was that advocating yourself is a unique
tool that we all need and some of us just
do not know how to. And so every day when
(34:19):
they would do rounds, I was standing here, Okay, well
we're at l's chart. Let's talk about l's progress today.
And I was the voice for L, and I told
them L don't need to be on fit and all anymore.
And it was me and I had to pull that
up outside of me because I had just delivered this child,
(34:40):
right and so I knew that that was my marching
orders for her. That was what I'm supposed to give her.
I'm supposed to make sure she sees herself in this world.
She needs to know everything as possible for herself, and
that most importantly, she has to know how to advocate
for herself because mom and dad are not always going
to be there. And so when we left the nick You,
(35:02):
I was kind of yearning to do something more. I
didn't really know what it was until one day, it's
probably six seven months later, I go into Target and
I remember looking for something that had a character on
it or that was representative of what my daughter looked like.
(35:25):
And I didn't see it. And I left Target that
day not upset, not discouraged, but very much so sure
that this is exactly what you're gonna go create. And
so I got to working immediately again. I am that girl,
I get the idea, I see the vision, and I
(35:50):
execute and so I started working on it and we
launched a brand about six months later. And when we
did the launch, I hired two more influencers and their daughters.
I made a huge investment for this launch, and I
ended up sending a cold pitch email to target saying, Hey,
(36:12):
I just launched this brand. I just did this campaign.
You guys should consider me to come on your floor
because there are moms who seek to shop with intentionality.
Those were the exact words that I use, who are
not being served, that would love to be served in
(36:39):
this manner. And they responded back to me, and it
really was it there. I can't sit here and say
that there was anything but that. And they responded back
to me and we were awarded four hundred target source
to go into.
Speaker 2 (36:53):
Unbelievable. Oh my goodness, you're like the pitching queen. Okay,
so what about handling rejection during the pitching process? Like,
what does that look like? Because yes, you will endure
a lot of no's and then there are some yeses.
Speaker 1 (37:15):
Have you ever encountered that personally? What? So how did
you navigate that? My god? You know, I think that
once you know what you're doing and why you're doing it,
there are a million different ways to get it done.
You just have to know that because someone says no
(37:36):
could either mean a couple of things. No, not right, Neil,
all right, go and ask them why they said no.
Don't leave it at the no, Go and pro find
out why is this not an alignment to what you
said that you want to accomplish? Is it budget? Is
it timing? Is it goals and objectives? Is it the
(38:00):
climate that we live in? Like, go and find out
more information. As they're gathering the information to give to you.
Then take that information and apply it to the next
organization that you go after. Because when you apply their
no to the next situation, then you're able to take
(38:23):
your no and you're able to work it out in
your favor. You're able to be flexible in it, You're
able to change it to make it work for you. Right,
And so I think that that's how I look at
the nose. Right. There are a million ways to skin
a cat. Yeah, So how are you going to choose
(38:45):
to do yours today? Right? Wow? In the pitch there
are a million companies out here. There's so many companies
out here. Just because one set no doesn't mean that
they're going to say no forever or doesn't mean you
can't take the information from their no and go apply
it to someone else's potential.
Speaker 2 (39:05):
Yes, Wow, thank you so much for that, And so
I want to step into the truth about entrepreneurship. What
would you say is one thing about entrepreneurship that you
wish that more people were honest about.
Speaker 1 (39:18):
If there's probably several things. So let me think of
my one thing.
Speaker 2 (39:23):
You can give a couple too if you want.
Speaker 1 (39:25):
Yeah, I think that while number one, I think that
most people think that if you're an entrepreneur, you're making
a lot of money, okay, period, and that is definitely
not the case. Yes, that's definitely not the case. As
a matter of fact, you're sacrificing so much. Yeah, you're
sacrificing not only what you're trying to build, you're sacrificing
(39:48):
your time. It's so easy to go get a job
and to get a paycheck every two weeks, and you
might have only done twenty five hours of that job,
but you still got that pay in the two week
period of time. When you are an entrepreneur, it does
not work that way. If you do not work, you
do not eat. And so I think that's a myth.
(40:12):
But then I also think the other myth is that
you have to work hard. There are there there is
a time when you can enjoy the fruits of your labor.
I am in a season where I am experiencing solace
and silence and surrender and learning that hard work isn't
(40:38):
going to be the thing to get me to the
next level. Wow, I've done all the hard work. I
don't put all the sweat equity in. I done done,
all the boots on the ground. I have done it.
Your girl ain't afraid to work hard. Instead, this next season,
hands off the wheel. It got to be all period.
(41:01):
And so I think that that's also another mint. People
think if you work hard, you're going to be successful. No, right,
that's not true either.
Speaker 2 (41:11):
I just felt that so much because I when I
was going to North Carolina, I just felt like God
gave me this revelation of like, there is no way
to try and manipulate, not in a negative way, but
try to like earn and work so hard for God's favor.
Whatever He's going to do in your life, He's going
(41:33):
to do regardless. And I think sometimes it's confusing because
you're trying to actually navigate, all right, what does faith
without works is dead mean? And how do I balance
that with actually, you know, letting God be God? You
know what I mean, do I continue to pursue this
in the way that I should and work so hard,
(41:54):
I feel so burnt out, I feel so stressed out.
Or do I like or do I sit there and
do nothing and then let God just do whatever he
has to do, you know what I mean. So I
think people get confused on like there has to be
a balance in everything, But there's just no way that
you can, you know, manipulate certain doors to open. Even
if you can, it's not going to be as sustainable
(42:15):
because the divine doors that God has opened for you,
you know, it's going to come effortlessly. When you think
about the things that maybe have come effortlessly into your life,
it was it's always like the most divine opportunities that
you did the least work for.
Speaker 1 (42:32):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (42:33):
And I had that revelation, you know, to myself, and
I'm like, Wow, that gave me so much peace and solace.
And I would even say for myself honestly, like I
am in a complete rebrand in my life, Like I
am learning a lot, unlearning a lot really just acquiring
a lot of business acumen, you know, like we were
(42:56):
talking about previously, and clarity is and messaging is what
I'm really leaning on God and also my network of resources, like, Okay, God,
how do I show up? What is your opinion on this,
you know, based off your expertise, and I trust your
(43:18):
you know, advisement based off of that, and really just
leaning into like where God who God has surrounded me
around and utilizing that network. And yeah, so that really
really resonated with me.
Speaker 1 (43:32):
So I think about the widower in the Bible. Right,
the widower she was in a bad situation. She owes
some folks some money, right, her husband had died, he
had made some promises that he couldn't necessarily keep. She
had her sons, right, and she didn't think she had anything.
(43:57):
But then a prophet came to her and said, to
use the oil. And when you pour the oil, it's
not gonna run out.
Speaker 2 (44:07):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (44:07):
And she used what she had, right, Like, she built
a team. Her kids were her team, right, She didn't
do it all by herself, and then she trusted. And
I think about that because the widower was at WIT's end. Man,
she was scared. I can't imagine her husband had died,
(44:29):
she had these kids, she had these bills, right, Like,
she didn't know what to do next, right, and then
she got a message and she started pouring, right, and
she didn't work hard after she started pouring. Wow, she
just was obedient and she knew how to manage her team,
(44:53):
and everybody was on the same page, and everybody wanted
her to win. And I think about that story because
I'm like, you know, sometimes you don't have to know,
but if you trust that God knows and that it's
in his hand, then then do that and it won't
be hard.
Speaker 2 (45:13):
Yeah, I love that so much. Just to even backtrack
a little bit, right, building a community, it's definitely not
an easy task. And what would you kind of say
the early days of building Boss Women Media was like
as far as building that community, because did you have
(45:34):
a prior like social media presence? No to Oh okay,
so let's get into that.
Speaker 1 (45:40):
Not at all, not at all. When I first started
Instagram it was boss woman Media Instagram, right, So no,
not at all. I built it. I remember our first event,
this had to been twenty sixteen, twenty seventeen. Twenty five
women showed up and that was the perfect amount of
women to be in that space, those twenty five women, right,
(46:04):
and they connected with each other. And I remember and
I remember at that time thinking only twenty five women.
I just want so much more. Yeah right, And now
I think about it. Those twenty five people that were
in that room, they were seen, they were heard, they connected,
That's all that they needed. Are you doing it for
(46:27):
you or are you doing it for them? Wow? Right?
And if you're building community for you, you are always
going to fall short. But if you're building community for them,
it doesn't matter. If one person was impacted, then you
did your job.
Speaker 2 (46:44):
Yeah wow, that was so powerful. So how do you
balance building a thriving business with personal growth and self care?
Because it's so easy to neglect yourself. I'm in this
process because as you were building, I mean I personally
(47:04):
think you are treading a lot of the times time
for money, sometimes especially in the beginning stages.
Speaker 1 (47:10):
So how do you balance that? Probably, about let's say
four years into it, I got a performance coach what
and it was the best investment that I've ever spent
on myself. So right after I had my first daughter,
my brain felt really foggy. I couldn't break through, nothing
(47:34):
felt really clear. I was pushing, but I was telling
myself kind of this weird story, and I remember having
this performance coach, and I deliberately got someone who I
didn't want her to look like me because I didn't
want us to have a pity party together. But I
didn't need her to be a Christian. That was because
that's how I moved and my husband actually found her
(47:58):
for me. He was like, I found someone. You need
to go talk to her. It was a huge investment.
I think I spent like eight thousand dollars to have sessions,
like four or five sessions with her, and on our
first call, it was like instant breakthrough. Tell me the
story you're telling yourself. I'm like, they never will because
(48:20):
I'm a black woman. And at the time I didn't
really know I was really telling myself that story. I
just thought that was my obstacle. Right. Oh, And she goes, okay,
well go find people who want to work with you
because you are a black woman. And it was like
everything shifted. It was like someone gave me permission to
(48:43):
be who I am and then it allowed everything to
open up. And that was my first seven figure year.
What is a performance coach? Okay, so a performance coach
is you know they have life coaches.
Speaker 2 (48:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (48:58):
She focuses on mindset, the stories. We all have a story.
Some of our stories start when we were six and seven,
but we've told ourselves right, And if we talk a
little longer, I'll know your story. Right. Everybody has a
story that they've told themselves. It is her job to
(49:19):
help us shift that story for our good and not
our bad. Wow, And she helps you really find. She
helped me understand what my values were because I was like,
I'm hustling. What am I hustling for? Because hustle is hard? Yes,
Roll said it right, like it is right. And at
(49:45):
some point you're gonna get burned out if you're not
sure what your values are. And so she helped me
lead with that everything I do. If it don't align
with my values, I don't do it period. And my
values are financial freedom, time with my family, influence, community building.
(50:06):
Those are my values. Time alone also is a value
of mine. I have to be in solitude with myself.
I gotta hear my thoughts. I gotta feel how I'm feeling.
I gotta experience it. I don't need to feel numb. Right.
She helped me identify those values and how I lead
(50:27):
my life with those values and the story that's working
for me Wow. Wow.
Speaker 2 (50:33):
That's honestly, that is I can totally relate to that
because I think even for myself too, I have to
be at some point like in solitude. You're creating, you're creating,
you're creating and executing, and it's like you need those
moments of solitude. So moving the needle. Here your book. Okay,
(50:54):
congratulations on your new book.
Speaker 1 (50:57):
Okay, hold on, pauls Nichelle, can you grab the book
out of the back packets on the back part of
the backpack, the back zipper. I want to show it too.
Oh my gosh, you have a copy of it?
Speaker 2 (51:06):
Yes, yes, because I know it's not even like it's for.
Speaker 1 (51:10):
Pre order, just for pre order. It's not out yet.
Speaker 2 (51:15):
Do you only have one copy of it?
Speaker 1 (51:17):
Or you only have one?
Speaker 2 (51:18):
No?
Speaker 1 (51:18):
I have to. And this is like my prize possession
messed up a little bit because we did a photo
shoot with Oh oh my god. I'm actually so excited
because tomorrow I'm going to tell my publishing house here
in New York. Oh yeah, but yes, this is the book.
The book artwork. I selected this artwork, yeah, because I
(51:39):
feel like this is my story. It's audacious upside down. Wow.
But it showcases. Oh, it's like you're on a journey
up and down, wob and down. And this is the
journey that everybody has to be on if you want
to create the life that you deserve, if you want
the light that you know exists for you, You're gonna
(52:03):
go up, You're gonna go down, You're gonna go back up,
and you can go back down. And that's a part
of it, right. Nobody cares about the mountaintop moments if
you don't have any value excep And So that's why
I just love this artwork so much because I felt
like it just really defined my journey of what is
(52:27):
inside of this book? Oh my goodness.
Speaker 2 (52:29):
Okay, so what inspired you to write this book and
what can readers expect to learn?
Speaker 1 (52:35):
Oh? My god. So I wrote this book because this book,
if I had had it ten years ago, would have
set me so much further ahead.
Speaker 2 (52:48):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (52:49):
It is the book of setting a vision, telling yourself
the right story, how you pitch your story, how do
you position your It is the book that encompasses so
many lessons that I've learned in building this business for
the last seven years. Wow. It is the lesson of
(53:12):
being a mother. It is the lesson of hardship. It
is the lesson lessons of continuing to go forth even
when you didn't know. And the most unexpected chapter is
the last chapter of the book. I tell people, this
is the framework. This is how you do your morning routine.
(53:33):
This is how you envision your life, this is how
you tell the story. This is how you pitch your
brand or pitch for the next position. Right. And then
I end the book with a chapter called Surrender, because
once you've done everything did you physically know how to do?
The last piece of acceleration is slowing down. Wow. And
(53:57):
so that's what we in the book with.
Speaker 2 (54:00):
And this book is called audacious, Ladies and gentlemen. Like honestly,
I was immediately drawn to the title, being a very
outspoken person, myself being very you know, I am both
extroverted and introverted, but I can work a crowd, you know.
So I was so drawn to that title, and I
(54:22):
was like, I need this book audacious. I love that
because audacity is everything, you know. So who would you
even say that this book is written especially for I
know you mentioned the moms, but who else? Who else
would benefit from reading the book?
Speaker 1 (54:39):
This book a college grad would do well reading this book.
It is a blueprint for how they could maneuver their career,
a startup entrepreneur, a woman or a man sitting in
corporate America trying to figure out how to navigate. Anybody
who wants and knows that life exists at a higher
(55:01):
level for them, wow, needs to read this book.
Speaker 2 (55:04):
Anyone who knows that life exists at a higher level
for them needs to read this book.
Speaker 1 (55:10):
Audacity.
Speaker 2 (55:12):
Okays, Audacious, I'm sorry you need to read the book, Audacious.
I'm telling you, guys, it's really going to be a
blessing to you. And it is available for pre order.
Speaker 1 (55:23):
Well, I'm available for pre order on all the sites Amazon,
Bonds and Noble, Target, Walmart, everywhere. Pre order is so
important too. Okay, if preorder tells the stores this book
is about to do well. Okay, the book doesn't come
out till October, but if you have space and access
(55:44):
and funds to pre order the book, please support and
pre order the book today.
Speaker 2 (55:49):
And I actually love that you explain that, because people
don't really know that, even if you think about it.
On social media, people don't understand how much alike which
is free and to share how much it can can
move the needle for your content and for your business.
So I'm really happy that you shared that. So for
the closing final thought, I'm gonna say, what is one
(56:09):
piece of advice that you would leave for anyone that
is listening who feels call to more.
Speaker 1 (56:16):
But they're scared to start, For anybody who may just
be sitting there thinking, ma'm I want more. First of all,
I want you to surround yourself with some folks who
also want the same desire. I think that's important. You
cannot want more and be around people who don't even
(56:38):
believe it's possible, period. And so finding yourself a circle
of folks, right, finding yourself another organization to be a
part of, Shameless, plug Bossom and the media here right,
Like finding yourself a community I think is critical in
(56:59):
you even pushing for to the existence because it's gonna
be hard, like get that out of your head? Who cares? Right?
But if you really want it, it's worth fighting for, yes,
And so I would say finding you a community of
folks and then getting really quiet with yourself. So if
(57:23):
I could say, what could you do to ex for more?
To exist? In twenty one days? Every day? Wake up
at five o'clock in the morning for the next twenty
one days. Wow, wake up at five o'clock in the morning.
I want you to before you turn on your phone
or turn on the news, to sit with yourself. Write
(57:43):
out five things you're grateful for today. Write out five
things you're praying for to day. And write out what
you see for your life to day. And then get
you a devotional or however you surrender to whatever your
higher power is, and then write out your prayers. Twenty
(58:08):
one days. Do it five o'clock in the morning. Choose
you first before the noise, and I guarantee you're gonna
get clarity around your more.
Speaker 2 (58:18):
Wow, and ladies and gentlemen, that is Marty Mick Donald.
Thank you so much for coming on the show. I
really appreciate it. And with that being said, all of
her information will be in the description down below, along
with the link to pre order her book Audacious. You
(58:39):
guys will not want to miss that, and make sure
that you check out her her socials, all her platforms
will be in the description box below. And with that
being said, do not forget that I love you, and
God loves you, and I will speak to you beautiful
angels in my next podcast episode, h
You have to see yourself in this world. You have
to see what is possible because someone went before you
and you're bringing up someone behind you. Representation is critical.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Yeah, hey babe, it's Asha Christina. This is Quality Queen Control.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
What is happening?
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Okay, let's welcome Marty McDonald to Quality Queen Control.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Oh my goodness, thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Oh my gosh, what an exciting episode that we have today.
I want you to take me back, like, who is
Marty McDonald? What is the genesis of your story of
how you got into the place that you're in right now?
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Oh, listen, it is not I would like to say,
you know this one thing happened, but that's boring. Great. So,
I am a girl from ten s who I like
to say always knew more existed. I grew up in
(01:08):
a single parent household. Hardship is not unfamiliar to me.
But yet, in spite of it, I always knew my
north star was going to be so bright. Not because
I saw it, not because anyone gave me a blueprint
for it, not because I had the right connections, not
because I even knew what to do myself, but because
(01:32):
I desired it and I did all the quote unquote
right things right. I went to the right school, I
went back to school and got my MBA, I got
the job, and then I found myself sitting in corporate
America thinking this cannot be it right, This cannot be
(01:56):
what generational wealth looks like, This cannot be what freedom
looks like. This cannot be the pathway for success for me.
And it was simply because I didn't see myself. I
didn't see myself sitting in spaces and places that I
desired to be in. I didn't see anybody who came
(02:16):
from where I came from, sitting in spaces and places
that I desired to be in. And because I didn't
see myself, because it didn't fulfill my soul, because I
knew that more existed, I made an exit December one,
twenty seventeen to go and bet on Marty. And what
(02:37):
that looked like at the time was me creating a
space where women could be resourced, women could see and
hear their story that it existed, that they're more existed
for them, through a media company called Boss Women Media.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
So what was your corporate job? What did that entail?
So my background was marketing, so I product innovation, brand development,
mainly in like the restaurant in CpG, consumer product good
space was were the breadth of my experience of working.
(03:18):
But my actual degree, my bachelor's degree was in interior
design and architecture, and then I went back to school
and got my MBA.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
Wow, wow, we love an accomplished woman. Okay, So then
speaking of can you share your personal journey of how
Boston Media and El Olivia came to life?
Speaker 1 (03:42):
Yeah, two very unique stories, two very unique journeys. But
when I was sitting in corporate America, I remember I
went to this event and the event was so buttoned up.
Everyone were black and blue and gray. It was very corporate, right,
(04:03):
And I remember sitting at this event just wanting to
be myself so bad, you know, and instead you just
had to handshake and tell everybody what you did right,
and you had to lead with your title, and you
never could lead with who you authentically was. And because
I just didn't want to play this game, I was like, man,
(04:25):
there got to be something else, right. And it's crazy
because at that time it really didn't exist. This thing
that I wanted so bad didn't exist anywhere. Fast forward
probably six months later, I ended up going to this
conference that was more millennial base, and it definitely was
not a space that looked like us. But I remember
(04:46):
going into this environment and in this space and it
felt relaxed, but it felt accomplished. It felt free, but
yet people were making deals right And I thought, what
if this space existed for women who looked like me?
And that was my first feeling and experience of this
(05:10):
is the blueprint of what I want to go create,
and I want to go create it for our community.
And so that was what I was marching against when
I was building Boswoman Media. That experience that I had,
and I had compared it to the experience of black
blue gray. So at Boswoman and Media, I make sure
(05:31):
that we never wear black blue gray, right like I
make sure that I'm creating an environment that you are
welcome in, but most importantly that you are seen in
because a lot of folks aren't seen and people want
to be seen. And so Bosiwoman and Media welcomes you
where you are today so that you are seen. You
don't have to leave with your title. You're in a
(05:53):
safe space. And as I, you know, knew that that
was kind of what I was building the origin from
right that I knew that the DNA would be created from.
You know, we just kept building. But there was something
that happened really instrumental in the middle of me having this.
(06:13):
And I was working on a project sitting in Corporate America,
so I was voting Boston. I was working, so it
was my side hustle. I was working on a project
sitting in corporate America, and I made a huge mistake
on this project. And it was going out to like
I think six or seven hundred restaurants that I didn't
like spell check something from, and there was all of
(06:36):
this like point of sale material that was going out
and it was my fault, right, and I had to
take responsibility for it. And as I held this weight
of taking the responsibility for something that I did not like,
really check with my ego eye, I remember thinking, how
(07:00):
many more times am I gonna accept how they make
me feel if I don't do something according to their standards?
That was really what they say, the campbell, the straw
that on the Campbell bag, whatever, And that's when I
made my exit. When I made my exit, I was
(07:22):
so on fire to prove them wrong. Now, I'm my
big age. I don't I don't care about proving anybody wrong.
But at that time, and at that point in my career,
I was so on fire to prove them wrong. So
me and a friend went to a conference in LA
called the Girl Boss Rally. At this conference, we met
(07:44):
so many incredible people. It was such a good time.
But I remember going into a breakout room where I
met the CEO of a high end confectionery company, and
as she's sitting on a panel. She was sitting on
the panel with probably two or three influencers that were
like really big influencers. And of course after the panel's over,
(08:08):
everybody runs up to the influencers to take the picture
for the gram. But I didn't run up to the
influencers because I could care less. I was trying to
build something. Yes, And I go up to the CEO
and I remember looking at her because she was on
this panel talking about we create taboo gummy bears, and
I thought, man, she could create a gummy bear called
black Girl Magic, and I will help her bring a
(08:32):
community of women to her stores through this gummy bear.
And I had just read this Nielsen data report because
my background was marketing in corporate and I would always
lead with data if I was pitching inside of my corporation.
So I went up to her afterwards and I said, Hey,
(08:53):
do you know what black girl magic is? And this
is in twenty eighteen. Wow, nobody's saying bikroal magic out loud,
like it almost is like this taboo thing. And she
responds to me and says, can I say that? Am
I allowed to say that? And I said, listen, bicirl
(09:15):
magic is a buying power. It is a rallying call
and a buying power of women who are not being
seen or spoken to right now. And there is a
missed opportunity on your bottom line that you are not
fulfilling by not speaking to her. We should create a
gummy beer together called block roll Magic. This gummy beer,
(09:38):
we're going to have it, have my community of women
come to your stores, and we're gonna do experiences around it.
And this lady goes she was so intrigued, but so cautious,
and then she was like, who is this girl? Like
what is she want in the world? But I was
so bold, I was so audacious, and I had nothing
(09:58):
to lose because I had so much to prove Wow,
And she goes send me an email and it was
like contact. It was like some generic email and I
had on the airplane back home and I said, I'm
going to send her an email and that email was
the pitch deck that literally changed everything about my business.
(10:19):
I sent her an email, I created a pitch deck.
I mapped out the whole process. It took her six
weeks to respond to me. Wow. When she responded to
me six weeks later, she approved for us to do
a five city tour called the Black Girl Magic Tour,
and I popped up in five different cities across the US.
That five city tour ended up being a beta case
(10:42):
for me because I took all of my learnings, all
of the data, and it was such an incredible experience,
and I pitched it to a financial service institute that
then led me to link to gaining my first six
figure deal by me saying I did a five city tour,
(11:02):
these are the learnings, and you guys should come with
me and we should do a seven city tour and
we should do this. And I had that experience to
be able to go and share to get more opportunity.
But if I had have never done it if I
had have sat there on my idea, if I didn't
stand up and be bold, if I didn't believe in myself,
if I got discouraged when I got that generic email,
(11:25):
if I, if I, if I, if I, if I right,
then none of it would be I wouldn't be sitting
here with you today. And so that is the origin
story of boss Woman Media.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
Oh my gosh, I am in absolute awe by that
because and we'll get into your book a little bit later,
but again, that is like audacity right there, especially in
a world whereas women we are honestly really told to
shrink ourselves, don't speak up, don't be too loud, don't
be this, And it's like, wow, you went for it.
(12:00):
That is like very inspiring to me because I often
find myself sometimes like I have such an outgoing personality,
but I find that like I sometimes want to shrink
if someone's like, oh, like what do you do? And
I'm just like a little shy and nervous, and I'm like,
what is this that's coming up? That I feel like
I can't just go for it and be audacious, even
(12:20):
if I'm not familiar with a certain you know, job
or community, you have to ask questions. You know, you
have to really like advocate for yourself because who else
will you know do that for you? And so one
of the things that I also notice is that a
lot of the people that have built like strong brand
(12:42):
awareness and companies all have like a background in marketing
and things like that. Would you say that is something
that has significantly helped you as you were acquiring all
this business acumen and navigating through the journey of creating
boss Woman Media.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
You know, I would say yes, and right yes, it
helped me visualize and tell the story. The biggest takeaway
that I got from Corporate America, whether I was sitting
in marketing or operations or accounting, whatever area you're sitting in,
you have to pitch people ideas, whether that's to use
(13:23):
a new solution if you're in accounting, right, or to
pitch to do this new product if you're in marketing right.
That was what I learned from Corporate America. I learned
how to bring people along to my story. I learned
how to bring people along to doing what I needed
them to do. I learned how to bring people alone
(13:46):
in a cross functional collaborative manner that helped them see
the bigger picture, and that was a skill that was
invaluable for my business one thousand percent. So whether I
was sitting in marketing or whatever. Right, I've always been
a creative naturally, but I'm one of these like uniorcorn creatives.
(14:08):
I'm a creative and I execute and most don't go together, right,
Like normally creative sit on the ideas. No, if I
get an idea, I'm definitely like, oh, no, we're doing
this today, let's go right type of person. So that's
what I'll say, That's what I would say. I would say,
I've learned how to storytell in some of the most
(14:29):
powerful ways where folks don't see me first, they see
themselves first, and that helps galvanize people into taking the project,
on doing the thing, etc.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
That's amazing. And I think there's also so much power
in collaboration, right, I think that's something that I mean,
I guess even in the influencing space. I remember growing
up the early influencers, a lot of them would collaborate
with each other. But then and there seemed to be
this negative connotation around collaborating because it was kind of
(15:06):
viewed as like, oh, clout chasing, or you don't want
someone to feel like they put you onto something. And
I think that that negative stereotype or stigma need it
honestly does more harm than anything, because no man is
an island, and there's always a skill set that someone
else possesses. And when you play to your strengths, there
(15:28):
is so much power in collaboration because you know what
you're bringing and you know without those other individuals are bringing.
And So you talk a lot about betting on yourself.
What did that look like for you in your most
uncertain moments, because in business it's not always just linear.
(15:51):
You know, there's ups and there's downs. So talk to
me about certain struggles that you faced and how you
had that resilience to just keep on showing up and
betting on yourself.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
Yeah. You know, I've always had an incredible vision for
what I'm building right, and I can't unsee it right.
But even in the moments when it does feel a
little cloudy, there's a whisper that goes alongside me, and
I know that that is God that says, just keep going, Marty,
(16:24):
just trust me in this right when I don't know
where the funds are gonna come from when I don't
know where the people are gonna come, because I'm popping
up in a whole new city that I don't necessarily
know all the folks. When I first started that five
city tour, we did New York, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta. In LA,
(16:46):
I had built a community in Dallas and that was it.
I didn't have a community in LA. But LA was
packed to the brim. It was people standing on the
outside of LA.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
Right.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
All I heard the whisper was keep going, Keep going
with your roll up banner and your suitcase and your
balloon guy and your social media girl. Keep going when
you don't know all of the things that are going
to happen, right, keep going when it feels really hard
and you just want to give up because you're tired
and you just actually need to take a break instead,
(17:23):
keep going, right. And so that's what betting on yourself
looks like. It looks like continuing on the journey, on
the journey, regardless if you got it all figured out
or not. And so that's the encouragement I want to
give to women, to me and to anybody that if
(17:45):
you believe it, all you need to do is just
keep going. I wear these bracelets, these mantra bands, and
one of them says, just keep swimming. And I believe
that that's just what I'm doing right and right now my
life look real different at home. So not only do
I have a business at seven years old, right, I
(18:08):
have a four year old and I have twins that
are twenty months old. And my life is full and
it is busy, and and all I'm hearing right now
was God told me even though I'm tired. Now, I've
just I've been city hopping. I was in Charlotte last week.
I'm in Chicago in another week. I'm like, all I
(18:29):
keep hearing him say is Marty, just keep going. The
fruits of your labor are going to pay off for you.
I just need you to know that you just need
to keep going. And just because I've been doing it
for some time doesn't mean I don't need the encouragement either,
to know that you know that this there is a
reward at the end that my cup will run over
(18:52):
that exceedingly abundantly above all exists for me. But to
that person, just just keep going. Once you have your vision,
that is all you need. Don't talk about it, don't
write it. Down no more in your notebook, don't take
no more notes on it, don't ask tim more friends
(19:15):
about it. You don't need to do any of those things.
You just need to take one step forward and keep going. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
Would you say also in that collaboration that you did
with Black Girl Magic Gummies, that when you receive that yes,
where you're like, oh man, crap, now I really got
to execute, Like how am I going to keep this going?
Was there any part of you that felt like that?
Speaker 1 (19:41):
Heck? Yes, man what she said? Yes? But I still
had to fund it. She gave me her space. We
did the gummy back together, but I still had to
get to five cities. I hired pr in five cities.
I hired speakers in five cities because we took her
store over and basically did breakout panels and sessions that
(20:05):
entire day. I hired influencers in all of those five cities.
So one thousand percent I didn't know. I didn't know,
But along me not knowing is where the beauty comes
into place. That's where this thing that I am so
connected to happens. The miraculous works. Right, It's like are
(20:29):
you God or are you? Are you moving off of
the vision that He gave you. And for me, I
have to check myself all the time. I am not God.
I am moving off of the vision that God has
for me, and so the vision that God has for me. Unfortunately,
(20:51):
sometimes it don't tell you every step to take from ABCD,
and sometimes you have to go from A to G
and you don't hear nothing. But you just have to
keep going, right, So girl, what self doubt? Yes, been
there lived on that street. Don't want those lessons no more? Right?
(21:16):
Not knowing fear? What fear don't go away, It just
gets bigger and it escalates in a different way as
you evolve and you know how to deal with the
fears that may have tried to hold you. My past
fears are my childhood fears. Okay, I know how to
handle you now, right, But the fears of growing an
(21:36):
eight figure business that's totally different, right, And so you
have to evolve with all of it. You have to
keep moving in all of it. And you have to
know that I don't have the know all of the answers.
I hate the entrepreneurs who, especially right now, are take
(21:58):
take this posture. They have it all figured out and
they don't leave room for any type of miraculous work
to happen. Right, Yeah, it's like that's actually a myth.
They're lying. And if if you're seeing entrepreneurs like that
show up, run away from them, I wouldn't take advice
from them because they're not telling the truth about this
(22:20):
whole story. This is hard. Building anything from scratch is
incredibly difficult. But your mindset has to be stronger than
the challenge that is in front of you. Wow, I
love that.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
And even in regards to let's just say capital. So
you're first, you landed that six figure deal and moving
forward from that, was that six figures went in your pocket?
Or was that six figures? Okay, I'm giving you this
budget of six figures. Now you need to allocate this
(22:54):
and create something from it. What does that look like
in terms of that business model?
Speaker 1 (23:01):
Yeah? So you know, when we first started from the
perspective of organizations would pay for the programs that we
would develop for them, right, So whether that was a tour,
a summit, right, they were our sponsors for it, right,
And so everything still has to get paid. Everything's so
(23:21):
that no, I'm not taking home six figures by any means, right,
it's going to the company and the organization to essentially
develop what we agreed to in the contract. Right, and
if it costs more than six figures, guess who's responsible
for me. I'm still responsible for no matter what the
(23:45):
cost is, to deliver what I told them I was
going to deliver upon So, say a company gives you
a check for fifty thousand dollars, but it actually costs
seventy five thousand dollars. Right, But they're one sponsor. They
gave you one check, right, and if you didn't sign
an agreement with them that they're not only the only sponsor,
(24:06):
the only sponsor that can be a part of it.
Is your job to go and get other partners or
so tickets or find different ways to build the revenue
stream out and what you're going to deliver. But oh,
by the way, if I don't deliver what I say,
I got to give that fifty thousand dollars back, then
I have no money. Then it's zero or I'm in
the deficit. Right And so you girl, the lessons that
(24:33):
I have learned around how much things cost, the times
in which I've said it would cost this, but it
actually costs this, And I've eaten right in order to
save face, in order to continue to build the brand,
in order to continue to serve the community. And in
(24:53):
all of that, I've been so so clear with this
message of not capitalizing off of my community. So most
of our programs that we do, our community has experienced
over the last seven years at either a free cost
or a very low price, and so that's helped us
(25:14):
build the community of course, and me saying you know what,
I Am going to go after the corporations that want
to deliver this type of programming to our community for
it to be on their backs to make sure that
they have the revenue given to us to be able
(25:34):
to put that forth.
Speaker 2 (25:36):
Oh that makes a lot of sense. Wow, Okay, And
how can someone actually start to build, you know, confidence
even when they're facing fear or even self doubt throughout
navigating being a boss woman?
Speaker 1 (25:53):
One of my most proven confidence building the skills that
I love to share with other women, especially when they
come out of a toxic environment, an environment that they
may have felt like an impostor, in an environment that
didn't affirm them, or an environment that really condemned them
(26:14):
in a lot of ways. I love to tell them
to go get in an environment where it might be
a volunteer service space rather that's a shelter or your
church or a local organization, and the skill that is
your superpower lean that into them. So for me, when
(26:39):
I first started, it was me leaning into my church
and sert and helping serve the women's ministry at my
church because I had come from this environment in corporate
that in a lot of ways had broken me right
of me thinking I'm not good enough, Should I be here,
et cetera, et cetera. When I did that and everything
(27:02):
I did in that environment, it was it was so
good to them. It was so great, and it was
so great for them. It was an added value for them.
They began to affirm me in it, and with that
affirmation that allowed my confidence muscle to flex. It was
like I was exercising my confidence every single day. And
(27:24):
then when I would go out into a corporation and
I pitched my idea right and they said, no, I
still have I didn't. I didn't wither up and die
because I had placed myself in an environment where I
could be affirmed. That really kind of built me back
up to face all of the nose that will be
(27:47):
out there that it's inevitable that we will face and
so that's I would say that what that is such
a key strategy in how someone can build their confidence
levels up. Place yourself in an environment that will affirm
you for a season. I love that. Wow.
Speaker 2 (28:07):
So what mistakes do you feel like you see people
making when they are trying to brand themselves or even
pitch their ideas.
Speaker 1 (28:17):
I think the number one thing that people do when
they're trying to pitch their ideas is they make it
about them. Right. They never put the other company's logo.
They have their logo on everything, right. They didn't take
out take the time out to really tell the full
story or show the whole scope of work. Right. They
(28:38):
let with them first, and they never asked what the
company's goals and objectives are. They don't even know how
they align to what they're being pitched in front of.
And so the best way to come back that is
when you are pitching yourself or a brand that you're building,
and you're in conversation with another brand, the number one
(29:01):
question you need to ask them is what are your
goals and objectives for the year? Before you go out
and start talking about what you want to do right.
Nobody cares what you want to do. These companies want
to know how can they move their bottom line right? Period?
That is it. And if you can help solve for
(29:22):
how they can move their bottom line or make the
community impact that they need to make or whatever, if
it hits in the lines with their mission and their values,
that's where you need to lead when you're pitching your ideas.
Speaker 2 (29:36):
Wow wow, So then leading more into the power of
the pitch right. First of all, getting your brand into
target is huge. Okay, congratulations. Can you actually walk us
through what that pitch process looks like?
Speaker 1 (29:54):
Okay? So I shared my origin story of Bostman Media.
I didn't share it with Ell Olivia. So Ell Olivia's
origin story goes like this. I get pregnant with my
first daughter in twenty twenty. Me and my husband have
been having a couple of miscarriages before, so it was
such a really interesting time to be pregnant in the
(30:17):
isolation of a pandemic. And when I was twenty four
weeks pregnant, I got diagnosed with something Elle did. My
daughter got diagnosed with something during my pregnancy called congenital
diaphrantic hernia. Which basically meant that Elle spleen, her liver,
and her intestines were in her chest covering her lungs,
(30:43):
and her lungs were not able to fully develop, and
that we would have to have a surgery to move
everything in its right place if she was healthy enough
when she would be born, which then led me to
having to change where we were going to deliver her,
and so instead of delivering her at the private hospital
(31:04):
that I expected, we ended up having to deliver her
at the county hospital. And that county hospital comes with
all the stigmas that our community faces, and it was
such a slap in my face and an awakening all
at the same time of are you living in a bubble?
(31:25):
It's people who are experiencing life out here, and just
because you've not experienced it in that manner in such
a some time doesn't mean it doesn't still exist. So
when I would go to the hospital, I would get
questions like are you on welfare? Are you married? Are
(31:45):
you on food stamps?
Speaker 2 (31:46):
Like?
Speaker 1 (31:47):
And I was just like so taken back by. I
was so taken back. I just thought it was so offensive.
I thought, I'm a I'm pregnant right like, But it
was just a part of the system, and so we
ended up delivering at that county hospital because it was
connected to the children's hospital and it would be safer
for her to deliver there than for her to be
(32:09):
life flighted because they did not know how healthy she
would be. But fortunately she ended up crying when she
was born, which meant that her lungs actually did work.
And three days later after she was born, we had
a surgery to move everything in its right place, and
then we stayed in the NICKU for thirty five days.
(32:31):
That nick You experience was something that really left the scar,
and I think will forever have a scar on me
of the disparities that happened in the healthcare system. And
I quickly learned what my purpose was supposed to be
as her mom. And as I went to that NICKU
(32:53):
every single day for thirty five days, I spent a
night at home. One night that entire thirty five period
us up in a hospital chair right after delivering a
baby vaginally, right And that nick You experience taught me
how important representation is. Yes and we say it, and
(33:15):
we live in a world right now where it's such
a climax of it all but it is so important. Girl.
You have to see yourself in this world. You have
to see what is possible because someone went before you
and you're bringing up someone behind you. Representation is critical. Yeah,
it is a strategy, right, It is a strategy, and
(33:37):
how I am raising my children. And so when we
looked around that hospital, nobody look like us, and that
threw me in so many ways. There were people of
color there, but there was no one who looked like
me and my family, or there was no one in
leadership that looked like me and my family either, And
(33:57):
I thought, well, then they don't know the challenges and
this is why they're asking these questions like and I'm
just thinking of all of the ways in which to
solve this. And the other lesson that I learned while
I was there was that advocating yourself is a unique
tool that we all need and some of us just
do not know how to. And so every day when
(34:19):
they would do rounds, I was standing here, Okay, well
we're at l's chart. Let's talk about l's progress today.
And I was the voice for L, and I told
them L don't need to be on fit and all anymore.
And it was me and I had to pull that
up outside of me because I had just delivered this child,
(34:40):
right and so I knew that that was my marching
orders for her. That was what I'm supposed to give her.
I'm supposed to make sure she sees herself in this world.
She needs to know everything as possible for herself, and
that most importantly, she has to know how to advocate
for herself because mom and dad are not always going
to be there. And so when we left the nick You,
(35:02):
I was kind of yearning to do something more. I
didn't really know what it was until one day, it's
probably six seven months later, I go into Target and
I remember looking for something that had a character on
it or that was representative of what my daughter looked like.
(35:25):
And I didn't see it. And I left Target that
day not upset, not discouraged, but very much so sure
that this is exactly what you're gonna go create. And
so I got to working immediately again. I am that girl,
I get the idea, I see the vision, and I
(35:50):
execute and so I started working on it and we
launched a brand about six months later. And when we
did the launch, I hired two more influencers and their daughters.
I made a huge investment for this launch, and I
ended up sending a cold pitch email to target saying, Hey,
(36:12):
I just launched this brand. I just did this campaign.
You guys should consider me to come on your floor
because there are moms who seek to shop with intentionality.
Those were the exact words that I use, who are
not being served, that would love to be served in
(36:39):
this manner. And they responded back to me, and it
really was it there. I can't sit here and say
that there was anything but that. And they responded back
to me and we were awarded four hundred target source
to go into.
Speaker 2 (36:53):
Unbelievable. Oh my goodness, you're like the pitching queen. Okay,
so what about handling rejection during the pitching process? Like,
what does that look like? Because yes, you will endure
a lot of no's and then there are some yeses.
Speaker 1 (37:15):
Have you ever encountered that personally? What? So how did
you navigate that? My god? You know, I think that
once you know what you're doing and why you're doing it,
there are a million different ways to get it done.
You just have to know that because someone says no
(37:36):
could either mean a couple of things. No, not right, Neil,
all right, go and ask them why they said no.
Don't leave it at the no, Go and pro find
out why is this not an alignment to what you
said that you want to accomplish? Is it budget? Is
it timing? Is it goals and objectives? Is it the
(38:00):
climate that we live in? Like, go and find out
more information. As they're gathering the information to give to you.
Then take that information and apply it to the next
organization that you go after. Because when you apply their
no to the next situation, then you're able to take
(38:23):
your no and you're able to work it out in
your favor. You're able to be flexible in it, You're
able to change it to make it work for you. Right,
And so I think that that's how I look at
the nose. Right. There are a million ways to skin
a cat. Yeah, So how are you going to choose
(38:45):
to do yours today? Right? Wow? In the pitch there
are a million companies out here. There's so many companies
out here. Just because one set no doesn't mean that
they're going to say no forever or doesn't mean you
can't take the information from their no and go apply
it to someone else's potential.
Speaker 2 (39:05):
Yes, Wow, thank you so much for that, And so
I want to step into the truth about entrepreneurship. What
would you say is one thing about entrepreneurship that you
wish that more people were honest about.
Speaker 1 (39:18):
If there's probably several things. So let me think of
my one thing.
Speaker 2 (39:23):
You can give a couple too if you want.
Speaker 1 (39:25):
Yeah, I think that while number one, I think that
most people think that if you're an entrepreneur, you're making
a lot of money, okay, period, and that is definitely
not the case. Yes, that's definitely not the case. As
a matter of fact, you're sacrificing so much. Yeah, you're
sacrificing not only what you're trying to build, you're sacrificing
(39:48):
your time. It's so easy to go get a job
and to get a paycheck every two weeks, and you
might have only done twenty five hours of that job,
but you still got that pay in the two week
period of time. When you are an entrepreneur, it does
not work that way. If you do not work, you
do not eat. And so I think that's a myth.
(40:12):
But then I also think the other myth is that
you have to work hard. There are there there is
a time when you can enjoy the fruits of your labor.
I am in a season where I am experiencing solace
and silence and surrender and learning that hard work isn't
(40:38):
going to be the thing to get me to the
next level. Wow, I've done all the hard work. I
don't put all the sweat equity in. I done done,
all the boots on the ground. I have done it.
Your girl ain't afraid to work hard. Instead, this next season,
hands off the wheel. It got to be all period.
(41:01):
And so I think that that's also another mint. People
think if you work hard, you're going to be successful. No, right,
that's not true either.
Speaker 2 (41:11):
I just felt that so much because I when I
was going to North Carolina, I just felt like God
gave me this revelation of like, there is no way
to try and manipulate, not in a negative way, but
try to like earn and work so hard for God's favor.
Whatever He's going to do in your life, He's going
(41:33):
to do regardless. And I think sometimes it's confusing because
you're trying to actually navigate, all right, what does faith
without works is dead mean? And how do I balance
that with actually, you know, letting God be God? You
know what I mean, do I continue to pursue this
in the way that I should and work so hard,
(41:54):
I feel so burnt out, I feel so stressed out.
Or do I like or do I sit there and
do nothing and then let God just do whatever he
has to do, you know what I mean. So I
think people get confused on like there has to be
a balance in everything, But there's just no way that
you can, you know, manipulate certain doors to open. Even
if you can, it's not going to be as sustainable
(42:15):
because the divine doors that God has opened for you,
you know, it's going to come effortlessly. When you think
about the things that maybe have come effortlessly into your life,
it was it's always like the most divine opportunities that
you did the least work for.
Speaker 1 (42:32):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (42:33):
And I had that revelation, you know, to myself, and
I'm like, Wow, that gave me so much peace and solace.
And I would even say for myself honestly, like I
am in a complete rebrand in my life, Like I
am learning a lot, unlearning a lot really just acquiring
a lot of business acumen, you know, like we were
(42:56):
talking about previously, and clarity is and messaging is what
I'm really leaning on God and also my network of resources, like, Okay, God,
how do I show up? What is your opinion on this,
you know, based off your expertise, and I trust your
(43:18):
you know, advisement based off of that, and really just
leaning into like where God who God has surrounded me
around and utilizing that network. And yeah, so that really
really resonated with me.
Speaker 1 (43:32):
So I think about the widower in the Bible. Right,
the widower she was in a bad situation. She owes
some folks some money, right, her husband had died, he
had made some promises that he couldn't necessarily keep. She
had her sons, right, and she didn't think she had anything.
(43:57):
But then a prophet came to her and said, to
use the oil. And when you pour the oil, it's
not gonna run out.
Speaker 2 (44:07):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (44:07):
And she used what she had, right, Like, she built
a team. Her kids were her team, right, She didn't
do it all by herself, and then she trusted. And
I think about that because the widower was at WIT's end. Man,
she was scared. I can't imagine her husband had died,
(44:29):
she had these kids, she had these bills, right, Like,
she didn't know what to do next, right, and then
she got a message and she started pouring, right, and
she didn't work hard after she started pouring. Wow, she
just was obedient and she knew how to manage her team,
(44:53):
and everybody was on the same page, and everybody wanted
her to win. And I think about that story because
I'm like, you know, sometimes you don't have to know,
but if you trust that God knows and that it's
in his hand, then then do that and it won't
be hard.
Speaker 2 (45:13):
Yeah, I love that so much. Just to even backtrack
a little bit, right, building a community, it's definitely not
an easy task. And what would you kind of say
the early days of building Boss Women Media was like
as far as building that community, because did you have
(45:34):
a prior like social media presence? No to Oh okay,
so let's get into that.
Speaker 1 (45:40):
Not at all, not at all. When I first started
Instagram it was boss woman Media Instagram, right, So no,
not at all. I built it. I remember our first event,
this had to been twenty sixteen, twenty seventeen. Twenty five
women showed up and that was the perfect amount of
women to be in that space, those twenty five women, right,
(46:04):
and they connected with each other. And I remember and
I remember at that time thinking only twenty five women.
I just want so much more. Yeah right, And now
I think about it. Those twenty five people that were
in that room, they were seen, they were heard, they connected,
That's all that they needed. Are you doing it for
(46:27):
you or are you doing it for them? Wow? Right?
And if you're building community for you, you are always
going to fall short. But if you're building community for them,
it doesn't matter. If one person was impacted, then you
did your job.
Speaker 2 (46:44):
Yeah wow, that was so powerful. So how do you
balance building a thriving business with personal growth and self care?
Because it's so easy to neglect yourself. I'm in this
process because as you were building, I mean I personally
(47:04):
think you are treading a lot of the times time
for money, sometimes especially in the beginning stages.
Speaker 1 (47:10):
So how do you balance that? Probably, about let's say
four years into it, I got a performance coach what
and it was the best investment that I've ever spent
on myself. So right after I had my first daughter,
my brain felt really foggy. I couldn't break through, nothing
(47:34):
felt really clear. I was pushing, but I was telling
myself kind of this weird story, and I remember having
this performance coach, and I deliberately got someone who I
didn't want her to look like me because I didn't
want us to have a pity party together. But I
didn't need her to be a Christian. That was because
that's how I moved and my husband actually found her
(47:58):
for me. He was like, I found someone. You need
to go talk to her. It was a huge investment.
I think I spent like eight thousand dollars to have sessions,
like four or five sessions with her, and on our
first call, it was like instant breakthrough. Tell me the
story you're telling yourself. I'm like, they never will because
(48:20):
I'm a black woman. And at the time I didn't
really know I was really telling myself that story. I
just thought that was my obstacle. Right. Oh, And she goes, okay,
well go find people who want to work with you
because you are a black woman. And it was like
everything shifted. It was like someone gave me permission to
(48:43):
be who I am and then it allowed everything to
open up. And that was my first seven figure year.
What is a performance coach? Okay, so a performance coach
is you know they have life coaches.
Speaker 2 (48:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (48:58):
She focuses on mindset, the stories. We all have a story.
Some of our stories start when we were six and seven,
but we've told ourselves right, And if we talk a
little longer, I'll know your story. Right. Everybody has a
story that they've told themselves. It is her job to
(49:19):
help us shift that story for our good and not
our bad. Wow, And she helps you really find. She
helped me understand what my values were because I was like,
I'm hustling. What am I hustling for? Because hustle is hard? Yes,
Roll said it right, like it is right. And at
(49:45):
some point you're gonna get burned out if you're not
sure what your values are. And so she helped me
lead with that everything I do. If it don't align
with my values, I don't do it period. And my
values are financial freedom, time with my family, influence, community building.
(50:06):
Those are my values. Time alone also is a value
of mine. I have to be in solitude with myself.
I gotta hear my thoughts. I gotta feel how I'm feeling.
I gotta experience it. I don't need to feel numb. Right.
She helped me identify those values and how I lead
(50:27):
my life with those values and the story that's working
for me Wow. Wow.
Speaker 2 (50:33):
That's honestly, that is I can totally relate to that
because I think even for myself too, I have to
be at some point like in solitude. You're creating, you're creating,
you're creating and executing, and it's like you need those
moments of solitude. So moving the needle. Here your book. Okay,
(50:54):
congratulations on your new book.
Speaker 1 (50:57):
Okay, hold on, pauls Nichelle, can you grab the book
out of the back packets on the back part of
the backpack, the back zipper. I want to show it too.
Oh my gosh, you have a copy of it?
Speaker 2 (51:06):
Yes, yes, because I know it's not even like it's for.
Speaker 1 (51:10):
Pre order, just for pre order. It's not out yet.
Speaker 2 (51:15):
Do you only have one copy of it?
Speaker 1 (51:17):
Or you only have one?
Speaker 2 (51:18):
No?
Speaker 1 (51:18):
I have to. And this is like my prize possession
messed up a little bit because we did a photo
shoot with Oh oh my god. I'm actually so excited
because tomorrow I'm going to tell my publishing house here
in New York. Oh yeah, but yes, this is the book.
The book artwork. I selected this artwork, yeah, because I
(51:39):
feel like this is my story. It's audacious upside down. Wow.
But it showcases. Oh, it's like you're on a journey
up and down, wob and down. And this is the
journey that everybody has to be on if you want
to create the life that you deserve, if you want
the light that you know exists for you, You're gonna
(52:03):
go up, You're gonna go down, You're gonna go back up,
and you can go back down. And that's a part
of it, right. Nobody cares about the mountaintop moments if
you don't have any value excep And So that's why
I just love this artwork so much because I felt
like it just really defined my journey of what is
(52:27):
inside of this book? Oh my goodness.
Speaker 2 (52:29):
Okay, so what inspired you to write this book and
what can readers expect to learn?
Speaker 1 (52:35):
Oh? My god. So I wrote this book because this book,
if I had had it ten years ago, would have
set me so much further ahead.
Speaker 2 (52:48):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (52:49):
It is the book of setting a vision, telling yourself
the right story, how you pitch your story, how do
you position your It is the book that encompasses so
many lessons that I've learned in building this business for
the last seven years. Wow. It is the lesson of
(53:12):
being a mother. It is the lesson of hardship. It
is the lesson lessons of continuing to go forth even
when you didn't know. And the most unexpected chapter is
the last chapter of the book. I tell people, this
is the framework. This is how you do your morning routine.
(53:33):
This is how you envision your life, this is how
you tell the story. This is how you pitch your
brand or pitch for the next position. Right. And then
I end the book with a chapter called Surrender, because
once you've done everything did you physically know how to do?
The last piece of acceleration is slowing down. Wow. And
(53:57):
so that's what we in the book with.
Speaker 2 (54:00):
And this book is called audacious, Ladies and gentlemen. Like honestly,
I was immediately drawn to the title, being a very
outspoken person, myself being very you know, I am both
extroverted and introverted, but I can work a crowd, you know.
So I was so drawn to that title, and I
(54:22):
was like, I need this book audacious. I love that
because audacity is everything, you know. So who would you
even say that this book is written especially for I
know you mentioned the moms, but who else? Who else
would benefit from reading the book?
Speaker 1 (54:39):
This book a college grad would do well reading this book.
It is a blueprint for how they could maneuver their career,
a startup entrepreneur, a woman or a man sitting in
corporate America trying to figure out how to navigate. Anybody
who wants and knows that life exists at a higher
(55:01):
level for them, wow, needs to read this book.
Speaker 2 (55:04):
Anyone who knows that life exists at a higher level
for them needs to read this book.
Speaker 1 (55:10):
Audacity.
Speaker 2 (55:12):
Okays, Audacious, I'm sorry you need to read the book, Audacious.
I'm telling you, guys, it's really going to be a
blessing to you. And it is available for pre order.
Speaker 1 (55:23):
Well, I'm available for pre order on all the sites Amazon,
Bonds and Noble, Target, Walmart, everywhere. Pre order is so
important too. Okay, if preorder tells the stores this book
is about to do well. Okay, the book doesn't come
out till October, but if you have space and access
(55:44):
and funds to pre order the book, please support and
pre order the book today.
Speaker 2 (55:49):
And I actually love that you explain that, because people
don't really know that, even if you think about it.
On social media, people don't understand how much alike which
is free and to share how much it can can
move the needle for your content and for your business.
So I'm really happy that you shared that. So for
the closing final thought, I'm gonna say, what is one
(56:09):
piece of advice that you would leave for anyone that
is listening who feels call to more.
Speaker 1 (56:16):
But they're scared to start, For anybody who may just
be sitting there thinking, ma'm I want more. First of all,
I want you to surround yourself with some folks who
also want the same desire. I think that's important. You
cannot want more and be around people who don't even
(56:38):
believe it's possible, period. And so finding yourself a circle
of folks, right, finding yourself another organization to be a
part of, Shameless, plug Bossom and the media here right,
Like finding yourself a community I think is critical in
(56:59):
you even pushing for to the existence because it's gonna
be hard, like get that out of your head? Who cares? Right?
But if you really want it, it's worth fighting for, yes,
And so I would say finding you a community of
folks and then getting really quiet with yourself. So if
(57:23):
I could say, what could you do to ex for more?
To exist? In twenty one days? Every day? Wake up
at five o'clock in the morning for the next twenty
one days. Wow, wake up at five o'clock in the morning.
I want you to before you turn on your phone
or turn on the news, to sit with yourself. Write
(57:43):
out five things you're grateful for today. Write out five
things you're praying for to day. And write out what
you see for your life to day. And then get
you a devotional or however you surrender to whatever your
higher power is, and then write out your prayers. Twenty
(58:08):
one days. Do it five o'clock in the morning. Choose
you first before the noise, and I guarantee you're gonna
get clarity around your more.
Speaker 2 (58:18):
Wow, and ladies and gentlemen, that is Marty Mick Donald.
Thank you so much for coming on the show. I
really appreciate it. And with that being said, all of
her information will be in the description down below, along
with the link to pre order her book Audacious. You
(58:39):
guys will not want to miss that, and make sure
that you check out her her socials, all her platforms
will be in the description box below. And with that
being said, do not forget that I love you, and
God loves you, and I will speak to you beautiful
angels in my next podcast episode, h
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