This week in the guest chair we have ​Kimberly Waters, founder of Modern Urban Sensory Experiences, or MUSE​, a luxury boutique fragrance house based in Harlem, NY. When Kimberly realized her role in corporate America was not providing her room to grow into her potential, she launched MUSE out of the parlor floor of a friend’s brownstone on Convent Ave in Harlem and has been growing ever since.​

• Why tapping into her community of mentors and entrepreneurs was the right direction 
• How she has self-funded her business since 2017 with no outside capital 
• How she has partnered with hard-to-find global brands, become a sought-after destination for emerging brands

Highlights Include: 

00:00 Intro

04:19 Gathering expertise in fragrance

09:50 Challenges in corporate America

13:46 Small-scale beginnings

22:46 Self-financing her side hustle 

28:03 The unique customer experience 

35:26 Revenue streams

39:18 Target audience and marketing 

51:13 Tips for entrepreneurs 

This week in the guest chair we have Germanee Gerald, founder of GG&Co Styling Firm, a brand and image styling company. Getting her start in the fashion corporate world, Germanee realized she thrived in offering her talents as a personal stylist and started side hustling. 

In this episode she shares:

• How she went from living with family and driving DoorDash to make end’s meet to hiring a team for her styling firm
• How to leverage opportunities like internships and a personal brand for business growth
• How diversifying her services, hiring a team, and seasonal planning led to scaling her business 

Highlights include:

00:00 Introduction

4:08 From biochem to fashion

6:22 The world of corporate fashion 

11:35 Transitioning into personal styling

17:49 Strategizing finances to go full time 

22:36 Nomad life and gigs to meet ends meet

29:14 Working with a celebrity stylist

36:58 Launching GG Styling Firm

39:53 Maximizing cash flow

42:34 Tips for entrepreneurs

This week in the guest chair we have Robiar Smith, CEO of R.B. Pest Solutions. In a male-dominated field, she is trailblazing her way to the top and building a legacy business for her family and community. Juggling two rapidly growing companies in an unexpected industry, she's redefining success and breaking barriers.

In this episode she shares:

• How she developed an exclusive retail deal with Home Depot
• What skills from her background in corporate America and MBA program she applied to being an entrepreneur 
• Her transition into scaling a product-based business into a multi-million dollar company 

Highlights include:

00:00 Intro

2:30 Following the pest control legacy 

6:34 How an MBA helped launch the business

12:57 Acquiring customers and making them long time clients

21:34 Phases of scaling a business

25:41 Developing and testing retail products

29:37 Difference in service-based and product-based business

32:44 Maintaining profitability 

35:48 Tips for entrepreneurs 

Today we have in the guest chair Selina Howard, founder and CEO of Vanglorious Brides. Getting her start as a teacher and side hustling as a wedding planner, Selina found her passion and niche in dressing brides. Today, Vainglorious Brides offers custom bridal shopping experiences, day of dressing services, bridal fashion event production, and more.

 In this episode she shares:

• How she went from working for free and building her network to booking celebrity clients
• How fostering strong relationships in the industry gave her the upper hand
• How she pioneered bridal styling and created her own niche

Highlights Include: 

• 00:00 Intro
• 5:08 Becoming a bridal stylist
• 11:22 The business of working with brides
• 18:58 Building relationships in the industry
• 26:07 Creating a niche in the market
• 33:20 Recovering from COVID impact
• 39:38 Scaling A Team
• 43:02 Booking clients from social media 
• 47:17 Expanding Black bridal market’s reach
• 53:48 Advice for entrepreneurs

This week in the guest chair we have DeNeitra Burnett, the Founder and CEO of Savvy Events, a Los-Angeles based event production and creative agency. DeNeitra has used her creativity and grit to climb to the top of the events industry, working closely with entertainment titans and Fortune 500 companies like HBO, Netflix, and Hulu, among others.

DeNeitra shares how when the events business was shut down during the Pandemic, she pivoted her business to custom mailers, leading to her scaling Savvy Events to a 7-Figure Business.

In this episode DeNeitra shares:

• How she made her first custom mailer during the pandemic and created a whole new division in her business
• How she structures her pricing to make sure she is fairly compensated
• How she’s expanding her business and team to incorporate both event production and creative mailer production

Highlights Include:

00:00 Intro

04:16 Event planning

09:22 Work-life balance

18:10 Percentage-based pricing

23:57 Pivoting to mailers

31:13 Adapting staffing structure

34:50 Tips for entrepreneurs