Four WOMEN Explain How They Went From Nothing To Wealthy | The Calum Johnson Show

1. 0:00 – 0:39

   Intro

   1. CHChristianna Hurt0:00

      Money gives you control. Control gives you tools. Tools will allow you the opportunities to do what you wanna do. And when you have options and opportunity, you feel like you're limitless. And I feel like without limit, the sky is the limit.

   2. CJCalum Johnson0:13

      Okay. Before we get into the episode, let me just say this. In the last four months, we've gone from 700 subscribers to over 50,000. I have a crazy goal for the next 60 days, which is that I want this channel to go from 50,000 subscribers to 100,000 subscribers. Please subscribe to the channel. Help me reach my goal. Now back to the episode.

   3. CHChristianna Hurt0:38

      So when

2. 0:39 – 4:05

   Sometimes the fuel for success starts in a bad place

   1. CHChristianna Hurt0:39

      I say low and I speak like I was just at my lowest, I was angry. I was really, really just like, just pissed. So like, my obsession, not eat, not sleep, not do anything but make money, because I was living with a person that was just calling out my name, hitting on me. Like, there was just so much just beating me down that I... The more it happened, the more I was becoming that person of like, "When I get up, I'm gonna step on you." Like [laughs] it was real like, "When I get out of this," like, "I'm going to destroy you." Like, it was just that for months. You gotta think like, I made my first six figures in September. I didn't get evicted till February. So from September to February, I was in hell. I lit- literally, and it's crazy 'cause my Facebook statuses from those years, I talk about it. I'm like, "When you hate somebody and you hate someone s- your situation so much more than you can breathe, you'll s- you'll hold your breath until you can get out." Like, and I meant that. Like, I really was on some like, "By any means, I'm gonna get out of this and I'm never gonna look back."

   2. CJCalum Johnson1:43

      Mm.

   3. CHChristianna Hurt1:43

      And that's exactly what... When I got out, I never looked back. It was getting to the point that like, when people did try to talk to me about it, like, I just wasn't even... I was just in t- tunnel vision.

   4. CJCalum Johnson1:53

      Mm.

   5. CHChristianna Hurt1:53

      Because I was obsessed with surpassing the person that put me under their shoe, in a sense. Like, I literally felt like that person. Like, at one point in my life, I would've laid down and died for them, and I felt like they were like killing me.

   6. CJCalum Johnson2:06

      Mm.

   7. CHChristianna Hurt2:06

      Like, you never thought that the person you would lay down and die for would be the same person that was trying to kill you, in a sense. Like, literally.

   8. CJCalum Johnson2:12

      Mm.

   9. CHChristianna Hurt2:12

      So I just was like so obsessed with just surpassing the numbers I would hear him talk about or his goals or anything that I knew he did. I was obsessed with just getting past it. And then once I got past it, I was just looking a- it was like one of those moments where you just look around like, "Okay, now what?" And then that happened.

   10. CJCalum Johnson2:30

       Mm.

   11. CHChristianna Hurt2:30

       My miscarriage. So it was like my miscarriage kind of brought me back down to Earth. And yes, it was horrible, horrible, horrible. Definitely never, ever wish it on anybody. But I do think it was needed, because I think that the way that I was navigating making money and the way that I was navigating my emotions, I think I eventually would have crashed out. I do think I would've crashed out emotionally.

   12. CJCalum Johnson2:54

       Mm.

   13. CHChristianna Hurt2:54

       'Cause I was just so mad. I was just mad at everybody. I was mad at everything. Like, there was just... I was just obsessed with like a revenge, in a sense. Where that gave me that peace of mind that there was just so much more, there's so many people that love me, my family, my friends. There's so many people that love me, and I felt so much love for this baby that it was just like, "Who cares?"

   14. CJCalum Johnson3:15

       Yeah.

   15. CHChristianna Hurt3:15

       Like, you'll get a new boyfriend. [laughs] You'll get-

   16. CJCalum Johnson3:19

       Yeah

   17. CHChristianna Hurt3:19

       ... you'll get like, you'll get a new apartment. You'll get another one. Like, it's not, it's not the end of the world, it's just the end of that world, and that world sucked.

   18. CJCalum Johnson3:26

       Mm.

   19. CHChristianna Hurt3:27

       So I just don't beat myself up over it, because... That's why when people are so ups- I'm just like, "There's worse." Like, "Trust me, there's worse."

   20. CJCalum Johnson3:35

       Yeah. I get that. Certain experiences, it's like it makes seem, it makes things seem like insignificant-

   21. CHChristianna Hurt3:43

       So small

   22. CJCalum Johnson3:43

       ... by comparison.

   23. CHChristianna Hurt3:45

       Like, it just, it... Child loss is different, so it just... Again, like I just don't think there's anything that I could've went through or has happened that even came close to the amount of pain I felt in those moments. So when people come to me, I really just try to stress like, "It gets better." Like, "Trust me, it gets better."

   24. AHArlan Hamilton4:04

       Being

3. 4:05 – 6:52

   Why your dreams must be bigger than you

   1. AHArlan Hamilton4:05

      a millionaire part, for me, couldn't be enough. The goal of being a millionaire. So there had to be this vision that was way bigger than myself. So that's what I would say to that person, 34-year-old me, and I would say to anybody else who is just like, "I don't know how to get out of bed. I don't know the first thing about changing my s- current circumstance," is if you feel that way, it's most likely because you've made it about yourself or you've made it about your very specific current circumstances. To me, in that moment, th- they were not... I wanna, um, almost say they weren't real. I was like delusional on purpose, and it was because the endgame or the goal, the North Star, was about how many people can I positively affect? What would happen if a backstage capital existed, where in venture capital, less than 10% of all venture funding goes to women, people of color, and LGBTQ founders? Where white men make up only a third of the country, they get 90% of the funding.

   2. CJCalum Johnson5:16

      Mm.

   3. AHArlan Hamilton5:17

      If I can make backstage capital happen, how many people would be positively affected? It didn't always start there. It wasn't always that. It was, actually, to be, to be honest with you, I did start with, "I wanna make a... I wanna raise $1 million for my company."

   4. CJCalum Johnson5:35

      Mm.

   5. AHArlan Hamilton5:36

      And in doing the research for that is when I learned that statistic that changed my life. Kathryn Finney, her team put that out years ago, and I learned that statistic and I said, "Wait a minute. Everything I've been thinking is wrong. I don't need to worry about me getting a million dollars, where that might take me. I could probably make it work. I'll figure out a way to get, make that million dollars, but I need to make that million dollars For us.

   6. TWTahira White6:03

      Mm.

   7. AHArlan Hamilton6:03

      And so w- because I had that while I'm sleeping on the floor, and any time I talk about it, by the way, I can feel it and see it. I feel the floor. I have my, uh, jeans rolled up as a pillow, no covers. I have my suitcase right in front of my face so I don't have to see people walking by, and there's, you know, lights are blaring. There's never any rest. And I don't think I would have made it several days, several weeks of that if I wasn't thinking about this bigger picture. So I think that's where you have to start, and if you find yourself really stuck, it might be because you're thinking too small.

   8. TLTricia Lee6:44

      I grew up in a family that... I grew up in a matriarchal family, meaning that

4. 6:52 – 9:55

   How to discover your passion.

   1. TLTricia Lee6:53

      majority of the women in my family were very successful, extremely hardworking, and the figureheads in their households, from my mother, to my grandmother, to my aunt, to my other aunt. So I saw that left and right, and I th- I think that from the very beginning instilled work ethic in me, um, confidence to speak my mind around whatever it is that I believe, but also have, um, the flexibility and, and, and ability to listen to other people's perspectives and hear their perspectives, right? Because they were all really good at that, my grandmother especially. She was very quiet, knowing that she probably knew more than what the person was saying [laughs] on the other side, would just allow people to be kind of who they are. Um, and I think that then translated into me just being very ambitious and having a certain level of tenacity and kind of just going for whatever it is that I wanted to do. Um, and once I identified something that I was passionate about, it was kind of like a run-and-go from there, which was production, which was... Not even production, because I didn't always know what that was, but it was creating experiences, like I mentioned earlier, and bringing people together. I knew that it, that started with, like, events, throwing parties, and that then involved, evolved into actually producing live events, and interning, and seeing what that looks like on a larger scale. And then it only took me one internship and I fell in love. You know, it was just, like, a week-long experience doing a Fashion Week show. And I was like, "Oh, this is awesome. Look at all of these people." And we did all of this all for f- 10 minutes, 15 minutes of, you know, a show. But the adrenaline rush, and the satisfaction, and gratification that I felt in being a part of that was something that was unforgettable, and I just, like, couldn't wait to be able to do it again. Um, and so I just continued to come back. Any time they would call me, I'd be right there. I'd hop on that bus from DC. I was in school in Virginia at the time, and I would hop on the bus, call my grandparents, "Hey, I'm gonna stay at your house for a week or so. I've got this job," and just kept doing it. And my professors supported it because they're, like, I, I'm... I was studying marketing. They also didn't know really what production was, surprisingly, but it sounded interesting, so they would say, "Go for it. As long as you, you know, do your homework, it's fine." And, um, I just continued to learn, and explore, and grow, and connect with people, and, and create these experiences continuously over time. That evolving into a business also ha- happened organically.

   2. TWTahira White9:52

      I was a small business in Clinton Hill, and I had

5. 9:55 – 16:03

   How too much success can kill your business.

   1. TWTahira White9:55

      SE, and CND, and Minx Nails, and OPI reaching out to me. Like, I sat on the board of Dashing Diva. Like, I was this little tiny person doing this little tiny thing, but huge brands were recognizing the work that I was doing. You know, like Equinox, America... Like, I worked with every brand at some point, and I started to realize, and it... I don't think it was even until, like, more recently that I realized, like, oh, I was giving them that cachet. 'Cause they were a big, established brand, but I had a lock on Brooklyn and all that was cool in Brooklyn. Mm.

   2. TLTricia Lee10:26

      You know? Like, I get it, but I get it more now than I did then.

   3. TWTahira White10:30

      Mm.

   4. TLTricia Lee10:30

      'Cause I'm like, why does Chase wanna work with me, or why does American Express wanna work with me? Like, this is crazy, you know?

   5. TWTahira White10:35

      Mm-hmm.

   6. TLTricia Lee10:35

      But I realize now better the lock that we had on that borough. Like, I literally was on a panel this week, and Lisa Price of Carol's Daughter said that when Carol's Daughter first got bought by L'Oréal, they had to open a hand and foot spa as an expansion of the brand.

   7. TWTahira White10:52

      Mm.

   8. TLTricia Lee10:52

      This huge step for this huge international company.

   9. TWTahira White10:55

      Mm.

   10. TLTricia Lee10:56

       And Carol's Daughter, being of Brooklyn, decided to do their location in Harlem, but she shared at the, on the panel, "Well, you kind of had Brooklyn on lock."

   11. TWTahira White11:04

       Mm.

   12. TLTricia Lee11:04

       And I'm like, a brand like y- that would be looking at what I was doing? I was, like, one single girl trying to hold things together with a paperclip, you know?

   13. TWTahira White11:10

       Mm. Yeah.

   14. TLTricia Lee11:11

       Um, but you can be that small and still mean that much, is what, you know, is what that shows. Um, I did not plan for that, though. I was l- always planning for worst case scenario, if, like, nobody comes and nobody cares, this is what I can do, so-

   15. TWTahira White11:28

       It's funny. Like, I have the same... That was my same fear with starting this podcast.

   16. TLTricia Lee11:33

       Mm-hmm.

   17. TWTahira White11:33

       And the reason I think it's so frightening is if you care about something so much-

   18. TLTricia Lee11:40

       Right

   19. TWTahira White11:40

       ... what if no one else cared?

   20. TLTricia Lee11:41

       I know. It's so horrific.

   21. TWTahira White11:42

       Like, that's almost like a s- it's a, it's a frightening scenario.

   22. TLTricia Lee11:45

       It's so heartbreaking.

   23. TWTahira White11:46

       Mm.

   24. TLTricia Lee11:46

       You know? 'Cause it's like, but this is all that matters to me, [laughs] you know?

   25. TWTahira White11:50

       Yeah. Like, this is my life.

   26. TLTricia Lee11:51

       Yeah, yeah. And, like, I had, you know, left a company I was at for nine years. I'd only worked at that company since I was, like, you know, maybe high sc- no, college, for sure. College. I was gonna say high school. I had worked at this company forever, and-

   27. TWTahira White12:05

       I didn't know how to work anywhere else. I didn't know how to do anything else. And so I'm opening my own business, and I'm like, "Okay, well, like, if only 10 people a day come, I'll be fine," because this was the plan that I made, and that's not what happened. I opened my business on July 22nd, and we were booked up for two weeks at that point, the day that I opened.

   28. CJCalum Johnson12:20

       Mm.

   29. TWTahira White12:20

       Like, you can come and see it, but you can't get up in here for two weeks.

   30. CJCalum Johnson12:24

       Mm.
6. 16:03 – 18:41

   2 life changing lessons from miscarriage

   1. CHChristianna Hurt16:03

      to see the light at the end of the tunnel when all you can see is darkness. It's really hard to... When people are trying to tell you there's light and you don't see that light, like, it's really hard to convince somebody of that. And I think that it could take, it can take a situation, it could take a friend, it could take anything, but eventually that situation becomes your light. And for me, it was April 13th, 2018. So for me, that day was my turning point where everything that happened prior to that no longer mattered.

   2. CJCalum Johnson16:33

      Why? What happened on that day?

   3. CHChristianna Hurt16:34

      [laughs] My miscarriage.

   4. CJCalum Johnson16:37

      Mm.

   5. CHChristianna Hurt16:37

      So my ch- my experience with child loss changed my perspective of everything, and I'm sure a lot of young women can talk about this. It just... To love some- someone that you... I don't wanna ever say something. It's just a habit at this point. But to love someone you have never met, it makes you kind of... I don't know. The hate just left my body. Like, that first interaction, that first ultrasound, that hate, nothing else mattered. Like, once you lose something like that, it's like I lost a part of myself, and I realized that domestic violence is bad, but I'm fine. You know what I mean? Like, I made it out, and I'm in a great place. And this person hurt me, but, but this... Do you know what I mean? Like, I don't know how to really explain it. Like, this person hurt me, but they're not here anymore.

   6. CJCalum Johnson17:26

      Mm.

   7. CHChristianna Hurt17:26

      And I have so many opportunities. There's billions of people in this world that will love me and will treat me better or w- you know what I mean? And even with child loss, like, yes, I lost my son, but I have the opportunity again when I'm ready to have another child. So it put into perspective for me to just, one, be grateful for life 'cause I almost died, but, two, just don't get hung up on the small things. Like, especially when you're in such a dark place, like, you got, you got to just dig as deep as you can and just pull it out of you. 'Cause when you pull it out of you, you will feel so mu- like, lighter in a sense.

   8. CJCalum Johnson18:03

      Mm.

   9. CHChristianna Hurt18:03

      And whether that's... A lot of people will feel darker and deeper in a hole when they try to work.

   10. CJCalum Johnson18:08

       Mm.

   11. CHChristianna Hurt18:08

       So that's not always gonna be the framework, but I promise you

   12. TLTricia Lee18:12

       Money gives you control

   13. CJCalum Johnson18:14

       Mm-hmm

   14. TLTricia Lee18:14

       Control gives you tools. Tools will allow you the opportunities, opportunity to do what you wanna do. And when you have options and opportunity, you feel like you're limitless. And I feel like without limit, the sky is the limit. You know what I mean?

   15. CJCalum Johnson18:28

       Mm.

   16. TLTricia Lee18:28

       'Cause if you follow numbers, numbers are infinite, so you're chasing that high. But if you chase the opportunity that you're looking for or the option that you're looking for to open up a new door, I feel like you are fulfilled when you walk through it.

   17. CJCalum Johnson18:40

       I'm kinda curious

7. 18:41 – 21:20

   How to take EDUCATED risks

   1. CJCalum Johnson18:41

      because I think sometimes when, when we're growing up and the people around us are, are driven and successful, it's like making decisions like to just leave school-

   2. TLTricia Lee18:50

      Mm-hmm

   3. CJCalum Johnson18:50

      ... can feel very difficult.

   4. TLTricia Lee18:53

      Mm-hmm.

   5. CJCalum Johnson18:53

      Even, even if you've had that spark of, "I'm meant to do this," to just do it and leave school and do something that's a bit untraditional and is a risk-

   6. TLTricia Lee19:03

      Yeah

   7. CJCalum Johnson19:03

      ... can be very difficult. W- was it difficult for you?

   8. TLTricia Lee19:08

      No.

   9. CJCalum Johnson19:09

      [laughs]

   10. TLTricia Lee19:12

       It wasn't difficult, but because I saw there are people that had done it before. And I also, my mom was always just very supportive of whatever it is that I wanted to do as long as I wasn't, you know, in the streets or, you know, doing anything crazy-

   11. CJCalum Johnson19:33

       Yeah [laughs]

   12. TLTricia Lee19:33

       ... on drugs, having kids, whatever the case may be. It wasn't like I was leaving school to just run off and aspire to, and there's nothing wrong with this, but like be an artist or going into something that wasn't stable. I, I left school because I had a job offering, you know?

   13. CJCalum Johnson19:49

       Mm-hmm.

   14. TLTricia Lee19:49

       Um, and I always intended to be able to, to go back to school and study alongside, but working in a startup is really, that's not the reality, or perhaps I didn't have the discipline. I can also say that, um, at the time. Um, but I think having examples, like I would always think about Elon Musk is like my new reference and like he didn't go to school and look at him. He has satellites in the air.

   15. CJCalum Johnson20:14

       [laughs]

   16. TLTricia Lee20:14

       He owns space. Um, but [laughs] it's, I can't remember who my old references were, but I remember continuously like seeing, learning about different producers, different businesspeople that hadn't graduated from school. My, uh, boss that hired me at the time would tell me stories and give me those examples so that I didn't have this like guilt of-

   17. CJCalum Johnson20:37

       Mm

   18. TLTricia Lee20:37

       ... feeling as though I don't belong where I am simply because I didn't secure a degree. And I think at that time it was like 2008, 2009, people were s- that started to, I don't wanna say it, it became a bit of a norm or it started to become okay to pursue something, especially in the arts, like a production or a trade without, like I like to consider production, without having a four-year degree. Um, I, I, I didn't have an interest in going to film school, um, and I didn't have an interest in sitting in DC and wasting my time to secure a degree versus going after what

8. 21:20 – 25:40

   4 step guide to turn your OBSESSION into millions.

   1. TLTricia Lee21:20

      I, I knew I would be good at.

   2. AHArlan Hamilton21:21

      There's nothing wrong with being an Uber driver or a Lyft driver. There's nothing wrong with DoorDashing, make ends meet, or working the 9:00 to 5:00 or doing the corporate gig like you're doing, and over time building up to something else, right? I, I don't want anybody to think that I think that you shouldn't, that you have to go all in all at once.

   3. CJCalum Johnson21:40

      Mm-hmm.

   4. AHArlan Hamilton21:40

      That's another thing that's important. Um, you wanna have some combination of starting with what f- like, um, fulfills you.

   5. CJCalum Johnson21:54

      Mm.

   6. AHArlan Hamilton21:55

      What is worth doing, excites you, makes you excited to wake up in the morning? Like every night when I go to sleep, I'm so excited to wake up the next morning. Like I can't wait to wake up the next morning and think through s- more strategy. I go to sleep thinking through strate- stra- strategy. I wake, I dream of it. I wake up with an idea. I write the idea down, and then I go up back into the cycle. Th- that wasn't always the case because I hadn't found the thing.

   7. CJCalum Johnson22:21

      Mm.

   8. AHArlan Hamilton22:22

      So it has to be something that you're just, to be honest with you, gotta be obsessed with it. If you truly want to make a million dollars doing it sustainably, and that's just your first million, you have to be obsessed with it.

   9. CJCalum Johnson22:39

      Mm-hmm.

   10. AHArlan Hamilton22:39

       So something that's obs- y- you find, be obsessed with, and that's where it goes back to you probably already know it and you don't even realize it.

   11. CJCalum Johnson22:47

       Mm.

   12. AHArlan Hamilton22:48

       Also has to be something that is, in my opinion, ethical, something that helps someone else because, again, that'll keep you going. That'll be, that'll be the, the, the buoy, I think the word is buoy-

   13. CJCalum Johnson22:58

       Mm

   14. AHArlan Hamilton22:59

       ... that keeps you afloat when things-

   15. CJCalum Johnson23:00

       Mm

   16. AHArlan Hamilton23:00

       ... are tough. Has to be something that makes money, and it has to be something that, I'm gonna say this, it might come out the wrong way. It can't be something that you only sell to broke people.

   17. CJCalum Johnson23:12

       Mm.

   18. AHArlan Hamilton23:13

       It has to be something, like ev- like a lot of people I talk to, they have this idea like something fulfills them, but they're like, "And I want, you know, I'm gonna be the cheapest version of it and, you know, I'm gonna, I'm gonna make it really accessible for so many people 'cause I want our people to come up." You make it really accessible to so many people and it's so cheap, it's not gonna be sustainable in a good business model, and you won't be able to keep doing it, and therefore you won't help any of the people you wanna help.

   19. CJCalum Johnson23:43

       Mm.

   20. AHArlan Hamilton23:43

       So it has to be something that is actually valuable, something that's valuable to someone else, so valuable that they'll spend actual money on it, like real dollars on it. That's another thing. And so we've talked about so many different things. There's some things I wanna go to, I don't wanna forget them, but you wanna kind of lock yourself in a room, go on a staycation, do what you gotta do. Um, pen to paper. What's fulfilling to me? What's something that is helpful to others, valuable to others, ethical? What's something that has a higher price point ultimately? Or a version of it has a higher price point that I can get to.

   21. CJCalum Johnson24:22

       Mm.

   22. AHArlan Hamilton24:22

       'Cause you think about the Tesla model, they didn't start with something that costs like $5,000, 10,000, 15,000. They started with something that was so unattainable to make it possible for the more attainable. Now, I won't get too much into Tesla 'cause I'm not a big fan of the boy, but that model is interesting. The Apple model is interesting.

   23. CJCalum Johnson24:40

       Mm.

   24. AHArlan Hamilton24:41

       Um, anyway, so that's part of the research and development is also in truly... Research and development is also truly studying. I'm gonna ask you a question I think is gonna prove this point. How many other people's YouTube's channel, YouTube channels do you study, if you had to guess?

   25. CJCalum Johnson25:00

       Oh. You know what? It's hard for me to give an exact number, 'cause there's a few kinda core channels that I really study, and, like, I'm aware of, like, everything they're posting.

   26. AHArlan Hamilton25:11

       Yep.

   27. CJCalum Johnson25:12

       But then I use YouTube so much-

   28. AHArlan Hamilton25:15

       Yeah

   29. CJCalum Johnson25:15

       ... that I'm actually studying, like, even the smallest channels.

   30. AHArlan Hamilton25:19

       Yes. You're proving my point.
9. 25:40 – 29:06

   Be confident and bet on yourself!

   1. AHArlan Hamilton25:40

      on it.

   2. TWTahira White25:40

      I had a lot of confidence because I'd set a lot of records in my company. I'd worked at MAC Cosmetics at a very vital time of their expansion and who they were. Um, there was a point in the times where, like, everyone just knew that company, you know, and everyone just knew that brand, and I got to work there at that time, so it was kind of like, I don't know... I mean, I guess it's kind of like working at the most popular brand that you can imagine in the world right now, like, working there. So then that's a huge thing that, "Oh, you worked there? Oh my God, what's that like?" You know? So I kn- I was very proud of where I worked.

   3. CJCalum Johnson26:12

      Mm.

   4. TWTahira White26:12

      But then I also really asked a lot of questions, and really was competitive, and really did well there. Um, and so I look up, and I'm really helping to open stores for MAC all over, um, New York and the East Coast, and I'm helping to train, you know, store managers and pul- build teams that are gonna run these stores, and really being trusted with their accounts, and their largest accounts in New York. Um, and I'm 30, and it's like I realize that that is a huge responsibility, um, but I think I can do it on my own for myself, for my stuff and my ideas. That's how I feel.

   5. CJCalum Johnson26:44

      Mm.

   6. TWTahira White26:45

      I feel like I, if I can do it for them and they trust me, like, I can do it for me.

   7. CJCalum Johnson26:49

      Mm.

   8. TWTahira White26:49

      So I start just a notebook, um, and I just start writing down my, my idea of this concept and, you know, that motivation and spirit was all around me. Like, I'd go on Fulton Street and I'd see all these really cool Black-owned businesses, and Lisa Price was on DeKalb with Carol's Daughter, and I just had every reason to believe that I could do something like that, just as cool, but myself.

   9. CJCalum Johnson27:09

      Mm.

   10. TWTahira White27:10

       So I got to a point where, um, I was prepared to do it, you know, and I'm, I'm strategic. So I had gotten myself financially prepared, like, my, my living situation, my lifestyle, I was set up to really dive in and do the business. And so on April 1st, [laughs] April Fools' Day, I gave notice and I, um, gave a month's notice. May 1 is my first day where I'm gonna be just, like, sitting in a cafe and working on my business plan, you know, very casually.

   11. CJCalum Johnson27:38

       Mm.

   12. TWTahira White27:38

       And that's literally May 1st, and I'm sitting in a cafe and randomly ask the person that was serving me, like, if they know anything about the rents around here. And the guy's like, "No, but my landlord's in the back and he owns everything around here. You should talk to him." That, like, one conversation on day one of not having a job led to me having a lease, keys, and a space within less than 60 days.

   13. CJCalum Johnson27:57

       Mm.

   14. TWTahira White27:57

       And so now I'm forced to implement everything that I've been creatively writing in one notebook for the last three years.

   15. CJCalum Johnson28:01

       Mm.

   16. TWTahira White28:02

       Um, and I just think at that time I just didn't care. I was like, "Yeah, let's do it."

   17. CJCalum Johnson28:09

       Mm.

   18. TWTahira White28:09

       And I didn't really know all the different places I would bump my knees and knock my head, and I just didn't understand that at the time. I hadn't opened a business in the city of New York before. You have no idea how tough that is.

   19. CJCalum Johnson28:17

       Mm.

   20. TWTahira White28:18

       You know? So I thought I could do it, and I think it's great that I thought I could do it. I think now I'd be like, "Oh, God."

   21. CJCalum Johnson28:23

       [laughs]

   22. TWTahira White28:23

       But then [laughs] I was like, "Yeah, I just need to, like, get a, you know, get some keys and get a place, and put some wallpaper up, and it'll be fine." You know what I mean?

   23. CJCalum Johnson28:31

       Mm-hmm.

   24. TWTahira White28:31

       Like, I just was so naive, it worked. Um, and I've always had good ideas. I've always had great ideas about marketing things. I've always loved the... I mean, before I even knew what marketing was, I've always loved, in my mind, showing off things that I love. If it's this glass of water, I'll sell you a gallon of it. Like, that's just the way it is.

   25. CJCalum Johnson28:48

       Yeah.

   26. TWTahira White28:49

       Um, so I knew I wanted services at that time, nail services, beauty services, to be fun, to be chic, to be affordable, to be uplifted, and just be upgraded overall in Brooklyn, and I thought that I could do that, and I thought that I could take that task at hand, and I did it, and I did it well for 10 years, and so much so that I opened multiple businesses.

Episode duration: 29:12