← Miracle Mentality with Tim Storey (Motivation, Self Help, and Mental Health)
Miracle Mentality with Tim Storey (Motivation, Self Help, and Mental Health)
Hala Taha: Turning Rejection into a Media Empire | Ep 2
00:46:05
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- [00:00]
A
Meet Hala Taha. She's an entrepreneur, podcast host, keynote speaker, and she's the founder and CEO of the media empire YAP Media.
- [00:10]
B
Like, I got fired. Really unfairly. All my mentors were from the station. I dropped out of school. I betrayed my family to work at the station. I gave up so much to work there. Then they fired me.
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A
Tell me how you got around those limitations.
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B
Every time somebody kind of rejects me, the first thing I go look for is, what am I going to start next?
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A
How did you work through the. The negative emotions that people were trying to put on you?
- [00:35]
B
I just couldn't let anybody tell me no, because I just already knew how far my family had gone and that, like, no one was gonna stop me from furthering our success. There's periods in your life where you will need to sacrifice. Like, you just can't have everything.
- [00:54]
A
Hello, my name is Tim Storey. Welcome to Miracle Mentality.
- [00:58]
B
Remember rooftops, drawing spaceships on the ground.
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A
It's for the dreamers, the doers, the believer in something greater. In each episode, I'll invite you to rise above the mundane, to push past the messy and learn to live boldly in the miraculous. Every episode will have practical wisdom, spiritual insight, and my guests will explore what it takes to activate your miracle mindset. Remember to subscribe, follow, and like. Welcome to the Miracle Mentality Podcast. Today I have a friend of mine who is an entrepreneur. She is one of a kind people, and you will find this out. Most of you know her, and some of you are going to get to know her even more. And that is Ms. Hala Taha. Hi, Hala. How are you doing today?
- [01:53]
B
Hi, Tim. Thanks for having me. I'm doing great.
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A
So there's a saying that says, you've been born in original, don't die a copy. When I think about you and your life, there is nothing that's a copy about you. You are, like, very original. So talk to me as a. About you. As a child, what were you, like? What were you into? What were you excited about? So let's think, like, six, seven, eight years of age.
- [02:26]
B
Yeah. Well, when I was young, I used to love to sing, so I've always been a singer. I was the one, you know, going in front of our family and friends and singing and performing or doing magic shows. I was also really good at sales and very bossy. So I would boss my cousins around to, like, help me with, like, lemonade stands and slushy stands and making bracelets and artwork that we could sell. And I was always, like, trying to sell something or do some sort of, like, magic show that we got paid for. And I was always an entrepreneur and always a performer. I grew up in New Jersey. I'm Palestinian American. I'm the youngest of four. My parents are immigrants, so we were kind of, like, before 9, 11 at least. Like, just like a Italian family, Even though we were Palestinian, like, that's kind of how everybody treated us. And we were very welcomed in our neighborhood in New Jersey and lived, like, a nice suburban life. Like, I had a really blessed childhood, which is awesome.
- [03:32]
A
Okay.
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B
Yeah.
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A
Tell me about the singing side of you, because I think that's a side that a lot of people do not know, and that by. By knowing you and studying you in the past and present, I know that you even thought about doing singing as a profession. So when did you first realize that you could sing? Did somebody notice it? Are you sang in a school production? How did you first realize you could sing?
- [03:59]
B
My mom told me that I sang before I spoke. That, like, my first words was me singing when I was a little girl. So I always loved to sing, and everybody knew that I was a good singer. And, you know, I was the type of kid that was, you know, solo in every chorus concert since kindergarten, always in the school plays. So it was, like, a known thing that I could sing. And I wanted to become a famous singer Now I really wanted to become a singer in college, once I started getting attention, and I realized that, like, I was kind of cute. And, like, then I was. And I was like. And I could sing. And so I started saying, okay, well, I'm just gonna start writing music and recording music and start it, and went and applied to get internships so I could actually push my songs on the radio. That was originally why I decided to work in radio, because I was actually trying to push my music and become a famous singer. That was my goal.
- [04:57]
A
Okay, so. So I'm loving this about you. I love that you said about. You realize you were kind of cute. So let's go. Let's go back to that. When you were a child, when did you find out that, like, I think I have, like, an extra dose of charisma or somehow people think I'm cute? When did that start to, like, come out? But what age?
- [05:21]
B
So I have to say that I feel like my life was sort of like a circle in that way. So in, like, elementary school and middle school, I was, like, very popular, and everybody loved me, and I had a lot of friends, and I. Anything that I wanted, I kind of got and Then I would say, in high school, that's when 911 happened. And suddenly I went from being, like, a fa in from a family that was really accepted. You know, I had three older siblings that went to school before me. All the teachers knew my family and stuff like that. I suddenly went from, like, you know, being a normal girl. To suddenly being, like, the Arabic kid in school that everybody was pointing fingers at. To getting yelled at in the hallways and told I was a terrorist. And then, you know, from being the leads in the school plays. To then being not even allowed to perform in the talent show. Even though everybody knew I had the best voice in school. The only teacher that still supported me was my chorus teacher. I still got solos and stuff. Because he, you know, didn't, you know, turn his back on me, I guess. But, like, other than that, like, I had teachers that were against me. And I just felt more of an outcast. And suddenly I wasn't getting on sports teams. And at that point, I just kept getting rejected and rejected and rejected. So I had, like, a skewed mentality of, like, who I was. And even it impacted me into getting into, like, a really good school. Like, I was a good student. But in high school, I didn't have many extracurricular activities. Cause they didn't let me on the cheer. Like, I didn't get on the cheerleading team. I didn't get on the volleyball team. I didn't have anything special about me. Because I wasn't really, like, allowed to be included. There was some aspects of, like, that, like, I remember I wanted to be in Brownies, like Girl Scouts when I was younger. And they didn't let me in Girl Scouts. That was the only time that I saw, like, racism in my community. Growing up, I went to, like, a very, like, what? I lived in, like, a very white suburb. And like, me and my cousin, who's also Palestinian, they didn't let us in Girl Scouts. But other than that, I never really faced racism until high school in 9 11. And then everything, like, really changed really abruptly. But then, you know, four years later, I went to college. And I ended up going to college in Newark, New Jersey. That's where I got the best school I got into, given my circumstances. Ngit was still a good school. And suddenly I was, like, so popular again. And I got on the cheerleading team, became captain of the cheerleading team. I was in this. In my sorority. I was in the radio club. I lead of the plays again. And suddenly it was like, I was so popular. And then I realized, like, I'M like, pretty and people give me attention and teachers like me. And I also got really into the law of attraction. And so I kind of, like, reset my mind when I was 19 years old and started reading a lot of books about the law of attraction and telling affirmations to myself and getting back into singing and sort of turned back into what I used to be when I was younger and felt way more in alignment. Like, it was almost like four years of unalignment of, like, not who I was. And then once I got to college, it was like, back to who Hala.
- [08:31]
A
Really was, which is really powerful because I think a lot of people, they don't know how to make that comeback to regain their innocence. So there's a lot of, like, innocence loss. So the in the innocence is the newness, the freshness of life. Like, when we were really young and everything was, like, new to us that we could have these experiences and these thoughts. And it's like, you didn't have very many barriers at first because you had, like, people applauding you for your, you know, your energy, your charisma, your singing. And then to go through the prejudice side, that is really not an easy thing. Okay, so I want to fast forward, and then I want to go back to that time. So, okay, when we fast forward now, we look at YAP media, we look at what you are accomplishing as a person that I would consider is very young. So you are doing this. You have a lot of employees, you have amazing people that are working with you. You brought on great clients. But not only are you doing that, you're mentoring, you are tutoring people, you are speaking, you are working on books, you are working on other projects. So really what I see is that you are a. You're a mogul. That's a big word. And I don't just throw it around because I know a few good moguls. You. You are a mogul. But it's interesting that all this is happening and continues to get bigger. But there was a time where you had a setback. And that setback was, hey, based on where you're from, based on how you look, we've decided to limit you. How did you get around those limitations when people tried to limit you?
- [10:38]
B
Well, in high school, I didn't. You know what I mean? I didn't get around those limitations. However, I don't regret it because what it did is it gave me really thick skin. Suddenly I was really used to rejection. And the thing is, is that I didn't stop Trying. I still tried out for the talent show every year. And they would say, like, I didn't make it on the talent show. Right. I still tried to get on the volleyball team. I still tried to get on the cheerleading team. I still tried to run for class president. I kept trying and just getting rejected, rejected, rejected. That drive to, to do well didn't go away. What happened is that I figured that losing was just part of the game. And so what happens is that I was not afraid to just keep swinging. And then one day I was able to hit a home run, you know what I mean? So it gave me really thick skin. Where then in college I went out and again kept trying for things, not expecting anything, but this time I was actually getting opportunities. And so it really helped build my confidence super fast. And then the other thing that I did, like I had mentioned, is I tried to like sort of reprogram my brain. I got really into Abraham and Esther Hicks. I don't know if you have heard of them, but like, of course, yeah, yeah. So that really helped me when I was younger and I would read all their books and I grew up Muslim, but I, I don't feel like super aligned to that religion. I don't speak Arabic that well. And like, I was looking for some sort of like, guidance. Right. And so that, you know, law of attraction, like having source energy, that was the guidance that I actually needed to kind of believe in myself, gain confidence, and, you know, attract things in my life that normal 19 year olds don't attract, you know. And so I, I quickly attracted really cool opportunities and it partially was changing my mindset.
- [12:39]
A
Okay, so I'm gonna, I'm gonna tell you what good people say behind your back.
- [12:46]
B
Sure.
- [12:46]
A
So good people behind your back, they like you. So whether our friend Heather Monahan or other people that are influencers, thought leaders, educators, like, you're very, very liked people, really, really like you. So there could have been a time in your life where you could have been a person that got bitter, you could have lost your hollowness because of the way people treated you. How did you work through the negative emotions that people were trying to put on you?
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B
I am very similar to you, or I'm a person of service. And every time I ever got rejected, I always put all that pain into creating something that would help other people, especially people who are going through similar problems. And I've had, I've like, have like a talent of attracting lots of teams and having people. Like, I've created lots of movements in my life right. So one example is I used to work at Hot 97. I'm sure we'll get into in more detail, but essentially, like, I got fired really unfairly. And the first thing that I did to try to get out of that, in a. In a moment that literally felt like somebody died. When I got fired because all my mentors were from the station, I dropped out of school. I. I betrayed my family to work at the station. I, you know, I, like, gave up so much to work there. Then they fired me. And instead of, you know, feeling bad for myself, staying down for a long time, feeling bitter, I decided, all right, well, I'm gonna just start something new. I'm gonna recruit other girls in the entertainment industry who work at iHeart and Def Jam and VH1 and recruit them and start a blog together. And I don't need Hot 97. And I can help these other women and. And become a platform for other women and teach other girls how to blog and all the things that I know how to do and start a movement. And so I just went and did my own thing. And so every time somebody kind of rejects me, the first thing I go look for is, what am I gonna start next? How can I just pour this pain into something that actually helps people, helps me, distracts me almost, and helps me get a little healthy revenge, so to speak.
- [15:21]
A
Yes. But see, the thing that I love because, you know, that I life coach people. So let's say it could be an actor that was really hot for three movies in a row, and then two movies don't work, and then they try to drop them to, like, a B level. I've seen both female actors and male who just got bitter against the system, and they just weren't, like, the same people anymore. What I like is that you kind of had, like, the mean girls and mean guys against you early on. Then you go to Hot 97 when it was hot, because at that time, it was hot.
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B
It was really hot.
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A
Yeah. One thing I love about you is that, you know, the hip hop scene, you know about music, you know about black culture, Hispanic culture, people, just people who love hip hop. So you were in Hot 97 when it was hot. You were working with Angie Martinez. You were doing all this stuff, but as an intern, but you were working, like, over eight hours a day, really pouring yourself in, and then you get let go. Right. So to most people, and you know, this hala, they would have got so doggone bitter.
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B
Oh, yeah.
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A
And it would have, like, so, like, bothered them to where they could not have stepped back up. Right.
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B
Yeah.
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A
And then you went for other jobs, and probably rightfully so, should have got them, and they did not work out the way they should have.
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B
Yeah.
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A
So outside of listening to motivational speakers and reading books or watching the Secret, what was something else that helped you to say, okay, ground yourself. Holla. You're going to be all right. And then you've talked about in other interviews, you. You became, like, the master of the pivot. How did you learn how to, like, calm yourself then pivot?
- [17:32]
B
Well, I think a lot of it is, like, gratitude and understanding where I came from. So my dad is Palestinian. He's literally, like, the hero of my life. Right. So my dad grew up in extreme poverty. No running water, no electricity. He wanted to get out of Palestine and have, you know, a better future for his family. And he knew the only way that he could do that is by educating himself and becoming the smartest kid in town. He was probably, like, the first kid in town to, like, read. Like, that's what it was like. He grew up in. In real poverty. He ended up going to med school, becoming a surgeon in America, becoming chief of surgery, opening up a medical center, and I would go back to Palestine. My. My dad was the type of person that never bought flashy things. He was very wealthy. He gave all his money to put other Palestinian kids through college. So he put all my nieces and nephews through college. He rose. His passion was raising money for other people's scholarships. So. So in my mind, I have no excuse but to be successful. I have no excuse. I was given a privilege. My family set me up to be successful, and I'm not going to let any, you know, Joe Schmo tell me I can't be successful, because I know that anything is possible and that life is really limitless when you believe in yourself. And I had some. Somebody who constantly believed in me, which was my father, and would tell me all the time that I was going to be super successful and that, you know, just keep going. And. And I just know that when you're passionate about something and you put in the work, you can achieve. And so I just couldn't let anybody tell me no, because I just already knew how far my family had gone and that, like, no one was going to stop me from furthering our success.
- [19:33]
A
Okay. So do you know how exciting this is to, like, hear you say this? So one of the things you're talking about is generational wealth, is that your dad, even though he was raised in a climate that was not conducive for him to become who he became, becomes this doctor, this surgeon comes to America, does well, really trains his children to be people that are living, like, at a high standard. Like, you guys are thinking, like, you're gonna do these things at this high standard, right? I love that you bought into what your dad was saying to you, because there's a lot of people that are watching that their parents did live at a high standard, and the parents did believe for them. But a lot of young people, they sabotage themselves through wrong choices. And even if they make a. A wrong choice, they don't know how to get back on pat on the path. Okay, but let's go back to your father for a minute, okay. Because I know that during COVID we lost him. And I know from other interviews and things that you've done and talked about how close you are to your father. And so how were you able to work through the loss, the grieving side, at the same time where your life was really taking off? So it's.
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B
It's.
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A
It's an interesting thing, because watch the man that helped you with all this, he passes, and we don't expect it. And now you got this thing on you, which I think is like God's grace to really take off and be you. How were you able to work through the grief while your life was taking off? Because now you had to learn to play hurt again.
- [21:40]
B
I actually had 20 volunteers that worked for free for me for two years. I started a. I started a movement with my blog that we. Previous to that. Then I started my podcast after that, and basically fans reached out to me and they were like, I want to help you. You changed my life again. I was just doing this to help people, and people were magnetized towards that. And I knew how to. I had a lot of skills because I'd been working since I was 18, 19, you know, from the radio days, and just kept. Kept stacking up skills. So I teach one guy how to do my website or one. One kid how to do my videos, somebody to post on my LinkedIn, and I started this Slack channel, and I had 20 volunteers. So I started growing my podcast pretty fast because I had a team, and I started growing my LinkedIn really fast, and I became an influencer on LinkedIn and I had a popular podcast. Now I was working at Hewlett Packard and then Disney, and I was hustling, like, literally working. I'd wake up at 5am, work on my podcast, go to work, do interviews at lunch, stay up till midnight. Preparing everything for my. With my volunteer team, and then just do that every day for two years. Like, I was just grinding, working two jobs, essentially. Then Covid hits, and everybody's working from home. I get a call from my sister, who's a doctor. All my siblings are doctors, and I'm living with my boyfriend in Brooklyn at the time. I don't have a car, and she's like, mom and dad and your brother have Covid and your aunt and uncle down the street. She's like, I'm coming. I'm going home to help everyone. This was March 2020, like, when it right happened. The worst part of COVID are you coming with me? I was like, I guess I'm coming with you, you know? So she picks me up. We go. We go to the basement. We're basically living out of the basement and, like, old clothes, eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches because we don't want to go upstairs too much. We're just trying to, like, help everybody put food on, like, near their door and try not to get sick. And my dad starts getting really sick. We're just going to help them. I don't care if we get Covid and we just start helping my dad or whatever. It gets too crazy. He ends up getting sent to the hospital. And at that point, the hospitals were packed. Our. My dad literally looked at us and is like, if. If I go to the hospital, I'm not coming back. And we were like, we don't know what else to do. I don't even want to get into, like, other stuff. It was, like, very traumatic. So my dad goes to the hospital. I'm working at home at this point. Heather Monahan, who's your good friend, she had just come on my podcast, and she, like many of the guests, would always end the episode with, how did you do this? Can you grow my LinkedIn for me? Can you do my podcast for me? And I'd always say, no. I'm so sorry. This is just a hobby. I'm just trying to help people. I've got a job. Sorry. I just have a volunteer team. That's what I would always say. Now, Heather didn't leave me alone. She kept commenting on my videos. I want you to do my videos. I had a call with her. She essentially was like, holla. I just had a meeting with Gary Vee's team. Gary Vee's team could do my social. Or you can. I want to be your first client. So me and Heather started to talk more. And while my dad was in the hospital, I started doing her videos and things like that for her. And so suddenly. And Heather was really so supportive of me, so she was checking in on me all the time. She was. She's my mentor, right? So she was just always, like, checking in on me. How are you? Really, really supportive during this time, which is what I needed. I needed an older figure that wasn't my family that was guiding me because my dad wasn't there anymore to do that for me. Okay. So Heather basically was the one who opened my eyes and was like, holly, you have a company. Let me be your first client. And Heather's still my client. She was my first client. So I started in the same way that I poured my energy. When I got rejected, I did the same thing. I poured my energy into my company. And I remember, you know, you couldn't go visit people when they had Covid. So my dad was in the hospital for two months. He was on Zoom. And I'd just see. I'd sing to him and do whatever I could, and I would sing to him while just the whole time while I was on the hospital, while just working and building my company in those two months and things just, you know, my second client was a billionaire and was a $30,000 per month retainer. And then suddenly it was just, you know, I got the CEO of Hint Water, became my client, the CEO of 1-800-got junk. And suddenly I found myself making over six figures a month with 30 people all around the world and quit my job. And I just was able to kind of start, and things just skyrocketed and my dad passed away. And so to your point, it was like the best year of my life, and it was the worst year of my life. But it was really knowing that life is short and seeing my dad and feeling like I was playing small. Even though I was building, I was playing too small. And I realized life is short. And it's like, this is a pivotal point where I can kind of just take it and run with it. A God idea versus a good idea. This was a God idea that I needed to just lean into. And everything just felt so natural, and I just went for it.
- [26:51]
A
So there's so much there because of the fact of you being so close to your father and then you and your siblings like being with him. I'm thinking about this thing about life where I think there's so many people that they get hit by. As you know, I talk about these life interruptions. So we didn't expect your father to get Covid. He's like this surgeon, he's brilliant. Your family's brilliant. They're all doctors. You're taking off and you're about to get even bigger, Bigger, bigger, bigger, bigger. But at the, in the middle of that, this life interruption hits you, that could just really sit you in a setback and just, just, just, just sit you there. Okay, so in, in your darkest moments, what are some things that went through your mind as, as far as, like where your life was, was, was headed and can I tell you why, where I come up with this question when I life coach people and their wife decides to leave them or their husband decides to live them, or their spouse dies or something devastating happens, so many of them think, I think I'm just going to settle. I'm just going to just stay where I'm at and not move forward. Now I'm hearing the opposite response from you. So what were some of your thoughts and then how were you able to then step forward and then we'll move on from this?
- [28:36]
B
Yeah. And it was actually so much worse. And it's stuff that I don't talk about often. I don't, I think maybe one other podcast I've mentioned it. So at the same time of my father passing away, I was with somebody for 10 years, and two days before my dad passed away, I found out he cheated on me.
- [28:53]
A
This is super big. I mean, it's super big because again, it's not your fault. You know, God has his call on you that you're a star. It's just the way it is. But what I think is good about what you're saying is that in the midst of life pulling you up, you're with somebody and then you have this big challenge. It's not small because you've poured into a relationship and it's, it's all out betrayal. Right. And then you're dealing with your father's situation at the same time. Okay.
- [29:36]
B
Yeah.
- [29:37]
A
So were you ever tempted to just settle what was going through your mind in, in the, in the darkest moments?
- [29:49]
B
What was going through my mind is that I am finally like free. Okay. I was with somebody who is essentially controlling me, who was angry that I started a company, who didn't want me to become an entrepreneur, who didn't want me to become a singer, which is why I stopped singing. And finally I was free because I'm very loyal, so I would never leave him. Once I found out that he cheated on me, suddenly I was free. I went, moved with my mom, even though I didn't have to I had a great job at Disney. I moved with my mom, quit my job, and I just hustled for six months. I didn't work through every weekend, and I told myself, I am going to come out so much better on the other side. And, like, what was going through me in the deepest moments was just. You got to just hustle. It's hustle season, and you've got to just pour your passion and energy into growing this podcast, growing this business, training your team, building a team, helping everybody in your community. And, you know, once I did that, it's like all these other pieces, you know, fell into place in terms of the new life that I was able to build from that.
- [31:15]
A
Like, I think one reason I get along with women so well because I was raised by my three older sisters, and then when my father passed, When I was 10, I was raised by my mother and my three older sisters, is that I think that sometimes for women that are very powerful, it's hard to find a connection with a man that is more than okay with the woman excelling. And you. You see that in. In many, many cases where a person will try to limit you, sculpt you, mold you into something that you're not, and maybe you try this for a season. And then I say it this way, the real you will make a demand on the you that you become. So while this person was limiting you, there had to be something inside of you that was shouting and screaming from your inside that says, said, holla, doggone it, go. Be who you are. Did that ever happen?
- [32:25]
B
Yeah, I remember I used to talk to myself. I used to talk to myself, like, what are you doing? You gotta leave. Why are you doing this? Don't, you know, don't be controlled. And as soon as we broke up and I actually felt free to do anything that I wanted to do, my podcast blew up, my company blew up, and there was just nothing stopping me. You are your environment. Right. You're a product of your environment. And that was an environment even though, other than that, like, I'm not going to talk crap about him. He was a great guy. Other than the fact that he did not let me live up to my full potential of my career. And that's something that was really important to me.
- [33:07]
A
Yeah. So, Holly, you got to remember, you're talking to a really good therapist life coach. So I tend to draw things out of people without even trying. But this is. This is a side of you that I so love. Because now let's move forward. So we move forward. We have Yap Media, we have companies, we have your podcast taking off. Did we finally write the book? Because you were working on a book. Did the book finally come out?
- [33:40]
B
I have postponed the book because I'm just growing my company. So I have my social media and podcast agency and then I have a podcast network that I started two and a half years ago. So in that network is like Jenna Kutcher, Russell Brunson, Lori Harder, Trent Shelton, and I do like all their ad sponsorships.
- [33:57]
A
Okay, well, yeah, you're the best. You're the best at what you do, miss. Okay, so, so let's describe the two companies and what they do. And then I'm going to get into how you're a baller, but yet you're down to earth.
- [34:14]
B
So I have my Yap Media award winning social media and podcast production agency, which Tim is a client of. So we're the number one LinkedIn marketing agency. We do podcasts and I have a podcast network. So I grow and monetize about 40 other top business shows. And then my podcast itself is a business.
- [34:34]
A
And you guys, she's just getting bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger now. So there's a Bible verse that I'm sure there's also poems having to do with something like this, but it talks about that God will give you the desires of your heart. So one of your desires when you were young was singing. Okay, so do you see anything coming up for you, even on the entertainment side? Because this is very interesting. Like if I was life coaching you on the side, I think life always has like a thread that goes through it. So you're, you're over on the radio. You're on the radio in college. You're involved in radio, right?
- [35:22]
B
Yeah.
- [35:22]
A
Then you are like the head cheerleader. You're bright, we love you. You're on Boom. Bam. So what is something that you think could be in the future that would be on the entertainment side? Let's go there and maybe this is the first time you're going to talk about it. It could be you're creating a Broadway show. Could be you're creating the holla show. It could. I don't know. Yeah, what, what excites you in entertainment that you might do?
- [35:57]
B
Well, I would say that if I was to do entertainment, I would. Some sort of like fun live show. Have you ever watched Kill Tony? Yes, I would. I'm not a comedian, but I love his format. Right. So like something where it's on stage. I used to love doing like clubhouse panels and things like that. So, like, I see a future where I'm doing conferences or touring, where it's more of, like, a panel format and can be a little bit more casual and fun. Because I feel like with my podcast, sometimes you don't get, like, my full personality when it's, like, something live. I'm always just, like, really good live, so. So.
- [36:37]
A
I totally see that, and there's room for it. And another thing is just because I know entertainment, because I work with entertainers. But even if you look at Chelsea Handler, what she did with her show, it was so different because there was music to it. Then she'd bring in her friends like Jennifer Aniston, and they would talk and they would laugh. I see a comedic side of you that's going to come out more. Just watch the comedic side. Who knows what happens with the singing side? That's not over. And it's. And it could be your singing, but also your writing. But, you know, don't sleep on your entertainment side. Miss. There's some good stuff going on over there.
- [37:25]
B
Yeah, I always say that, you know, ultimately, there's no straight path to what you want, really. I wanted to use my voice for my career, my voice to change the world, and I do that now with my podcast. So I don't feel like I didn't really, like, you know, make good on that. But, you know, there's moments where I'm at a piano bar or something and was like, I would just love to be the singer at the piano bar, like, to be honest and do that for fun.
- [37:52]
A
I love, again, this side of you that understands, like, more of my culture. Again, as you know, I'm from Compton, California.
- [38:03]
B
Right.
- [38:04]
A
The home of Dr. Dre and Kendrick Lamar. How did you get into music like that? Were you allowed to listen to it at your house?
- [38:13]
B
Oh, yeah. So I had older siblings, so we used to always listen to. You know, I used to have every single CD I remember listening. I think Coolio is my, like, first CD that I ever had. Do you remember him? I still love hip hop, so that's what I listen to when I'm going to the gym. And what I love. That's what I love to dance. Like, that's my favorite music to listen to. And I've interviewed a lot of, like, really famous rappers and things like that.
- [38:38]
A
So let's. Let's. We're going to end with two questions.
- [38:41]
B
Okay?
- [38:42]
A
One of them has to do with a lot of women that are having this challenge of being the boss, like, being the lady who just has it on her. She's the boss. But also having what some would call the work life balance. I work with a lot of women like that, and some of them are my friends, some of them are my business partners, some of them my life coach. And I think it's not that easy. Okay, it's not. So are you learning to find that a little bit? And if so, tell, tell us how.
- [39:25]
B
Well, first of all, I want to say that sometimes it's hustle season, right? So I'm a believer that there's periods in your life where you will need to sacrifice. Like you just can't have everything. So there was four years when I first started my company where I worked every weekend, I worked till midnight. I, I should have done more with my relationships, but I, I didn't. Right? And I was able to build a moat around myself by doing that. And if I didn't, I wouldn't be who, who I am right now because everybody started a podcast during COVID but my podcast was already big because I had sacrificed, you know what I mean? So I don't regret it at all. However, I had to give up things in my business to allow myself to have a life. So, for example, a lot of the people that were volunteers for me now have equity, are leaders in my company where they take up a lot of responsibility. I'm, I'm, you know, I have a business partnership where each person is get like vesting to get 10, 15% of my business. And I have two business partners and, you know, one of them's my COO, one of them leads my agency, and that gives me more freedom. I have a team of 60 people and I've had to really, you know, know, work hard on hiring processes and, and onboarding and training so that I could have a life. And now I never work weekends. My, I'm after 7pm I. I'm off. You know, I have a healthy, you know, love life. I want to start a family, you know, and so all these things are really important to me and I've built those goals into the plant, right? I could scale my social media agency huge. But I'm not going to do that. I've decided that I want, you know, 20, 30 clients that I take care of really well and I don't need a bigger social agency and for my network that can scale without more workers, you know, and that can. And so I want to scale that side of the business and not necessarily the social agency, because that will take too. I want to be good to my clients and not take too many clients. And so there's certain decisions that I have to make to ensure that I can have a family. And it. It is different for women. It's definitely different for women. I don't see my, you know, my boyfriend as an entrepreneur. He doesn't have the same concerns. And. And it's not the same because it's a lot different for women when they have children than men, unfortunately, because you're the one having the children. So. So, yeah, I think there's just things that need to change. But as a woman, I say, you know, it's okay to sacrifice in the short term. And it's not always about work life balance. Sometimes it's about building a moat, and you need time and effort to do that.
- [42:22]
A
You just gave me one of my favorite answers, and I've asked this question usually off the air to so many smart ladies. That was such a great answer.
- [42:33]
B
Oh, thank you.
- [42:34]
A
And I love how you are spending time, like on weekends just with the people that you love, because in my opinion, that's faith. Like to take the Sabbath to rest, to reflect, to be around people you love. That's faith. You got enough faith in what you've been doing that the harvest is going to continue to come. Okay.
- [42:57]
B
Exactly.
- [42:58]
A
Okay, my last question is about having money and being able to splurge on yourself from time to time. Okay, so tell me what that looks like for you. For. For a lot of men, it's watches, our cars. For a lot of women, it's handbags or watches or jewelry. What is it for you?
- [43:30]
B
Well, I'm a spender, I would say. I got myself a Ruby star hot pink Porsche earlier this year. So I drive a hot pink Ruby Star Porsche. You know, I got fancy nails. I've spent a lot of money at Sephora and love makeup and all that kind of stuff and nice clothes and shoes and bags and about to get a penthouse on top floor in downtown Austin and just. Just, you know, starting to live. Now. One of the reasons why I'm able to do this now, I don't know if you know this, but I bootstrapped my company with my podcast sponsorship money. I myself have, you know, the number three biggest show in the network, and everybody else took 70% of their payouts. I pumped all that money back into my business to make really good hires and to hire people like my CEO and everything like that. Last year was the first year that I started taking sponsorship money. So now suddenly I'm like, rich when I never had that before. So it's really all my sponsorship money and it just, you know, much different these days. So.
- [44:39]
A
No, but I love this about you because again, it takes me back to Little Holla who was singing and dancing and performing and happy and even through the prejudice, even through the setbacks, even through being fired, canceled, not understood, you just kept coming through, coming through, coming through. And then you are just being yourself. Which takes me back to how we started. You've been born an original and you refuse to die a copy. And there's only one you. Thank you for being my friend. Thank you for helping my brand and so many other of our friends brands. And don't forget me when you're even more rich and famous, please.
- [45:33]
B
Thanks, Tim. It was such a pleasure.
- [45:35]
A
Thank you for sharing space with me on this episode of Miracle Mentality with Tim Story. If today sparked your courage or helped you understand why you're created for success, I invite you to carry that miracle mentality forward. Visit me@timstory.com that story with an ey on the end. Until next time, walk by faith, embrace possibility and create your own comeback. Story.