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- [00:01]
Les
The following podcast is a Dear Media production. Welcome back to she's so Lucky, the podcast dedicated to women who create their own luck. My name is Les and I have been hosting this show or a version of this show since 2018. And since it started, our community tends to really go up for career related episodes. And I think that's because work is often a really big, big part of our lives. And I'm really excited to explore the idea of creating our own luck when it comes to career with today's guest. Now, luck often follows bold moves, and my guest today, Candice Marie, knows a thing or two about making bold moves. She has successfully transitioned from finance to luxury fashion to entrepreneurship. And we talk about the key steps it took to make all of these transitions. We also got into the importance of building relationships in your career, how to navigate corporate spaces, the to entrepreneurship, and the power of building a personal brand. So get your notes ready, get your notebook, get your notes, app, whatever you need to write down these gems. And let's get into today's conversation with Candice. Candice, welcome to the show.
- [01:23]
Candice Marie
Thank you for having me.
- [01:25]
Les
I'm so excited to have you because you are so well versed in so many of the things that the audience is always asking about and wants us to talk about more on the show, whether it's building a personal brand, whether it's style, whether it's just creating your own path. People are always asking me about it. I'm like, y' all, I'm not the one. I'm not the one. We can find somebody who can help us, who can help us do all those things. But before we dive in, I would love to start off by hearing about maybe a lucky moment that you've had recently or a time that you recently felt lucky.
- [01:57]
Candice Marie
Ooh, I think I would say more recently. And this was like, end of last year, this was like pure, you know, like a happenstance moment where you're like, where did this come from? I was going to speak for Jordan Brand. They had brought me in being like, hey, we would love for you do like a social media session for a group of ladies we're bringing in. I was like, okay, like, I'm trying to think of a cute little title where I was like, what can I call this session that I'm going to present? And I was like, let me see how many days are left in the year, you know, on the day that I actually speak. And maybe I'll like, put that number in and it being 75 days exactly. And I was like, oh, my gosh. I was like, this instant thing that came to me where I was like, what if I did, like, a 75 guide where I gave you, like, 75 tips for social media, and I cover all the things that people DM me about, email me about, comment, you know, about. And so I took a week and pulled together this, like, 75, not so hard social media guide, and that thing, like, blew up. And I was like, this is something that I did not plan. I did not say, like, oh, I'm gonna do this. It's just a moment that came to me just because there was that many days left in the year, you know, launched it at the Jordan Talk. They end up purchasing it for the whole entire audience and then launched it on my social. And literally I was like, wait, wow. A moment that was not planned. That was, like, beautiful. So I feel like that was a moment that was, like, very lucky.
- [03:19]
Les
I love that. And it's such a testament to ideas coming to us at the right time.
- [03:24]
Candice Marie
Yes. And it's almost like going with the flow, too, because it was a moment where I was like, can you really pull this together in a week? And I was doing things that I had never done before because I had never launched an actual, like, product. But the research, I was like, I have the foundation where, like, I could do the research. I have the community where I can tap people being like, how do you do this? Do you know of anything regarding, like, on the back end, I have, like, my website person. So I was, you know, hitting up my entire community, like, how can I do this in a week? And pulled it together. I'm not going to. I'm not going to lie. It was very stressful.
- [03:57]
Les
You worked.
- [03:58]
Candice Marie
But in hindsight, you know, that thing makes me money every week. So I was like, okay, we're trying to get in our, you know, bag of continually making money without touching it. So, yeah, that passive income, that's what that started, you know, end of last year, which was nice.
- [04:13]
Les
So good. That's such a great example. What did that experience teach you when it came to, you know, creating your own product, putting it out in the world?
- [04:22]
Candice Marie
Stop being a perfectionist. And I am such a person where. And I think it's a mixture of, like, my fashion background and, like, the luxury world mixed with social media. But, like, I. And this is a whole different topic of being a black woman. Always have to be put together and polished and, you know, I can't show this side of me. And so I. I'm very particular about what goes on my social account? Like, nope, not the right angle. Nope. It has to be like this. And when I promised to put out 75 videos, and that was like another crazy thing where I was like, I would never do that again. But doing it actually was fabulous. I had to accept that every video would not be perfect. I was like, if you're going to put out 75 videos every single day, something is going to be wrong. And I had to get in this. Like, I started exercising a muscle of. My goal here is not perfection. It's just consistency here. And that really has helped me move quicker on making decisions. When it comes to, like, my personal, like, social media being like, you know what? It's okay. It's life where I've been able to be a little bit more maybe transparent when it comes to social media and not as rigorous usually. I'm not like that with my clients. I'm like that with myself, though. But I feel like it helped me kind of let loose a little bit more.
- [05:38]
Les
Yeah. What you just said about how you are with clients versus how you are with yourself, I think that that's such a real thing that so many of us feel where it's so much easier to give grace to other people, but then we have these standards for ourselves that we would never hold anybody else to. And that can look so many different ways.
- [05:55]
Candice Marie
Yes. I actually talked to one of my colleagues. She, like, hit me up. She was like, hey, do you mind taking, like, a call with this guy that's in the industry and he's getting into, like, the flow of things and he just needs some, like, mentoring? And I was like, yeah. So I chatted with him last week, and it was so funny, almost seeing a mirror reflect of myself, because he was like, I feel like I need to do the next thing and then the next thing. And he. I was like, you just did this huge thing. And then I was like. And as I'm saying this to you, I also have to remind myself, too, that we don't take time to sit in our wins and we're like, on to the next, on to the next. But it was nice. Even though I was saying things to him, was almost like, candice, you need to take that for yourself too. I, too, deserve grace. Just like I give to other people. And most times people are not even looking that deep. Edit. I have, like, a microscope and people are not even looking that hard.
- [06:43]
Les
It's so true. And also that part about not celebrating our wins, I feel so heavy. There was this post, I think it was maybe on threads or something that ended up making its way over to Instagram where someone said, my toxic trait is not feeling a source of accomplishment or sense of accomplishment after finishing big things. Just a mild sense of relief that is done. And I was like, I feel attacked.
- [07:07]
Candice Marie
Yes, heavy. Actually, One of the YouTubers I follow, she mentioned something about, like, when she trains for a marathon after everything is over with, she feels this depression of, what do I do now? Like, I had this, like, high and now it's like, what do I do with myself? What is this moment? And I feel like a lot of us who are like, just natural go getters where once we tackle one thing, we don't take time to be like, okay, wow, you just did this thing. We're, like looking for the next thing. And I heard, talking with a friend, we were like, is that a scarcity mindset thing? Is that where we're like, if I don't keep moving, I'm going to be forgotten about. Or that's really in the social media world, like, I have to do the next thing. I have to be like, constantly present. But it's nice to kind of like, take a beat and slow back and enjoy. Even as I'm saying this, I recently got signed and congratulations. And that was the natural reaction that everyone has had. And I realized I was just skipping past it so I would say it. And then my assistant the other day was like, I just want to tell you congratulations on getting signed. And I said, thank you. And I realized in that moment, I had not taken time to just sit in that and celebrate, you know, how long I've worked and all the moments that brought me to that moment. And it can be hard, but I almost have to put pen to paper. Something I kind of started doing is at the end of every week, I've been writing down the good things that have happened and I've been putting it on my poster board above me so I see it when I sit down at my computer. And that kind of has helped me keep grounded of, yes, we think about all the things that need to be done or the things that we want to do, but there's also these things that are great and big and little me would be proud of. So, yeah, absolutely.
- [08:54]
Les
And having that as a visual reminder, too, is such a good idea. I do something similar, but I keep it in my notion because notion has, like, my whole life. And I have my little weekly wins practice and I made a recurring appointment Friday at 10am like, fill out your weekly wins, but I do realize I don't necessarily see them after I fill them in. That's great. And then I don't really think about it again until the next week. So I love that you have yours on display so you can see, see them.
- [09:18]
Candice Marie
Yes. Because a lot of times out of sight, out of mind. And I don't. A lot of times I have to be like, no, go back and read this. Because even in this week I'm like, there's so much happening and so much going on and so much to do. However, these are the things that you have accomplished and done and it's not that long ago. Like, this is just this year where I'm like, look at the things that have happened this year. And it's a great reminder to kind of pull you back in those moments where you feel like you're going a little bit too far to the left or you're tired or exhausted or like running yourself into the ground that again, I can rest, take a beat and come back because like these things happen. They're going to get done. So yeah, it'll all be there. Yes.
- [10:00]
Les
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- [13:43]
Candice Marie
Man, it's so interesting. When I look at my career journey, it seems so like, smooth sailing. Like, oh, she knew what she was doing and I was figuring it out. As I was going, and now it tells a really nice story. I just knew I wanted to be in like fashion journalism. So for me, I'm from the south, from Arkansas. So like, everything that I saw was more so like in magazines, not actually physically being in New York or being in like in la. And so in my mind, once I moved to New York, I was like, oh, I'm going to pursue this thing like, really heavily. And was at like Essence and Lucky magazine at the time Vogue. Met like some of my really good friends there. But then there was a moment in like I was writing an article and that's when like Facebook and I think it was Twitter at the time, like, just became a thing. And so you didn't just write your article, you also wrote the caption for what was going on the social media platforms. And that part started to intrigue me more because I was like, wow, the traffic that's leading back to this article is coming from this small little caption or this thing that I thought was small at the moment. And so I really like leaned heavily into that. Refinery 29, I would say would be my first, like social media specific job. Because I feel like they were like one of the earlier pioneers of doing social media so robust and then fully digital. Yeah, they didn't have like a magazine or something like, you know, paper tied to it. And so I remember being like, I need to get there. And that's where I'm going to learn like all these things regarding social media. And. And they had a large social media team, like, compared to like during that time frame that was like two people doing Twitter, two people doing Facebook, three people doing Instagram. I was like, okay, I'm going to learn a lot here. But the only thing I didn't like about it was that it kind of pulled me away from the fashion world. It was very pop culture. And I'm not really a pop culture girl, even celebrity wise, I'm so out of the know when it comes to like, things like that. But fashion, I'm like, I know that. And I'm like, how do I put myself back in that space? But there wasn't that many jobs that were like fashion and social media. Like, it was such a niche. And I remember seeing a job posting for Barney's New York. I was like, social media manager. I was like, let me see if I like, apply for this job and what happens? And little did I know my future manager and my current manager were like, really good friends. So I went in for the interview and I like Emailed her to the side being like, hey, I would love. I don't know if this job is still open, but she brought me in, did the interview, went really well. And then later on she was like, oh, I actually know your current boss. And she's said you would be great for the job. And so, like, it was a nice transition over. I said, I probably would still be at Barney's now, you know, if everything would have been, like, smooth selling because it taught me so much. And it was so nice because Barney's, I felt like, was so innovative in the way it thought. Even having a social media job, I was able to hire, like an influencer, like, coordinator. Like, during that time, like, nobody was thinking about influencers. And to actually be able to hire a social media assistant and an influencer coordinator, bring, you know, have a team. It was like, really, really nice. And then working with all of these fashion brands also where I got to see what were their social strategies, what are their digital strategies. And all these brands are doing social media differently. But the consensus at the time was they thought social media was going to go away. And a lot of designer brands. When I would go to Europe for, like, Fashion Week and we would cover it on social media, a lot of the brands would say to me, this is not going to be around for long. So, like, we're letting you, like, come for now, but we don't think this is going to be around. Little do they know this thing would blow up and be really big. And my last corporate job was at Prada. Oversaw social media for Prada usa. And at first I remember when I knew I was leaving Barney's, I was like, am I going to be bored at, like, a silo company? Because I was used to working with multiple brands versus working with just one individual brand. But to me, Prado was, like, so iconic that I was like, okay, it passed. I only had, like, a few handful where, like, if I go and work for, like, one brand, they're in the group of, like, top three. So I was like, you know what? Let me get this experience. Let me see. And this was actually a nice. Because they reached out to me and it was through. I say, like, you talk about mentorship, but they talk about sponsorship. Where a colleague of mine, previous past colleague, was saying, hey, you should talk. I have a young black woman who you should talk to. Because I think the role had been open for a long time. They couldn't find anybody. He was like, I have the perfect person for you. And so I went in for the interview. And I was like, this is interesting. I feel like they're trying to convince me to come work here versus asking me questions. And it was, like, the easiest interview ever. So I was like, yeah, you know, I want to take it and hear, like, the things that I want it to look like. But being at Prada, that's when, like, black lives matter. Like, that's where that rollover was. And I kind of knew. I was like, it's time for me to step out on my own. And in the midst of being at Prada, I actually started my nonprofit, Black and Corporate, just because I was like, this experience that I have in this corporate world as a black woman, even in the luxury fashion space, I'm still hearing the same stories of my colleagues who are engineers or in the finance space, who. It doesn't matter. We're all having these same experiences and stories. But I knew it was time to kind of, like, step out on my own. And in stepping out of my own, I let Prada know, hey, I'm going to start, like, my own, like, consultancy. If you want to be a client, I would love to negotiate that. And they end up saying yes. And so it was a nice little transition, leaving the company, but also have their blessing, essentially, to take them on. I think we worked together, like, the next year and a half, like, rolling things out still. So that's a little about me in a nutshell.
- [19:04]
Les
And I love that through line of alignment, of whether it's like, the managers knowing one another, it's like, yes, these opportunities were ready for you to step into them.
- [19:14]
Candice Marie
Correct.
- [19:15]
Les
Which is, I think, really beautiful.
- [19:17]
Candice Marie
And I always say, you never know, because I feel like in the things that have happened, it's not that they. A lot of times would come just so perfectly, but it took me just doing one step, and then it, like, happened. And I always say, like, things can happen, but a lot of times you have to take that first move. And I'm a big believer in, like, the worst you're going to tell me is no. So even I thought to myself, I was like, I wonder if I can negotiate. I literally had, like, a wham. Like, I wonder if, like, Prada would say yes to being a client. And I told my boss at the time, and she said, there's no way. It wasn't even in her hands to give the approval. She was like, I really doubt that they would do that. And then I remember her coming to my desk, and she said, would you believe they said yes. She was just as shocked as me. And I was like, you know what? In my head, all I could think to myself was, the worst you were going to tell me is no. And I still was going to go out and do my own thing, but if I never would have asked, I would have never known, like, what the answer would have been. So I feel like that's also been like this connector of just take the first step and see. And worst case scenario, it's going to be a no. But the best case scenario, they agree to it and they say yes.
- [20:15]
Les
Yeah. Because if the worst case scenario is you have to pivot, that's not a terrible scenario.
- [20:19]
Candice Marie
Not terrible. Yes. I mean, it always a no kind of stings. I think I told somebody that, they're like, how do I say no? And I feel like I'm always like, harsh. And I was like, you know, no might have a sting a little bit. But you kind of think to yourself, okay, how do I pivot? No doesn't mean it could be a not yet. It could be. This is not the door. Not necessarily. It's not a no to the entire, like, idea of it. So, yeah, definitely.
- [20:40]
Les
I would love to talk about what your transition was like as you were going out of corporate consulting on your own, what that experience was like for you.
- [20:49]
Candice Marie
Such a learning experience, being an entrepreneur even to now. I tell people, like, I don't have it all figured out. But that's the thing. I don't think you have to wait till you have it figured out to do the thing. I'm a person, like, I'll figure it out as I go. And I always say, I do think scared too. Like a lot of, like, my friends are like, you just did that so effortlessly. And I'm like, y' all, I was so scared. And I did it during the pandemic. So let's talk about that. I'm living in New York. I decided to quit my corporate job in the middle of a pandemic. I'm living in Manhattan. My rent is expensive. So I'm like, if this thing doesn't work, those comforts and things that we've created and work so hard, that can go away in an instant. So it was very much nerve wracking. But I still tell myself, okay, I have this finance majors, this backup plan, like how like a backup plan, if this doesn't work, I can like pivot to, like this type of job. I feel like with social media too, at that time, because it was booming. So during the pandemic, I was like, I can pick up someone really Quickly. The planning, though, was that by the time I left my corporate job, if I didn't make a single penny, I could still last for a year on the savings that I had.
- [21:54]
Les
You had that safety net.
- [21:55]
Candice Marie
Yes, I had, like, a safety net. I had, like, that plan where I was like, I didn't just, like, leave and be like, you know, I'm leaving without. No, I had a plan. I was like, okay, financially, we're set for a year. If I don't bring in one dime, okay. You know, we're going to do all the things of, like, cooking that, ordering out. Like, I feel like a lot of money was saved in the pandemic, too, because we weren't doing all these extracurricular activities that we normally would have done. But then I started to just, like, talk and collect clients. During that time, people were reaching out pretty heavily, though, just because it was the pandemic. And a lot of people didn't have social media plans or a lot of people who thought social media was something that was going to come and leave. They were trying to find people. And then a lot of colleagues, whether they were at Meta or at TikTok, they were fielding in clients to me being like, hey, are you taking clients on the side? So I started to create this, like, funnel of, okay. And when you do great work, people talk about great work. So it almost. I even say to this day, I've never publicized. I'm looking for clients. All my clients come via word of mouth because someone has said X, Y, and Z. And I think especially in the, like, entertainment and celebrity world, because if you honor people's, like, privacy and you understand, like, hey, we're going in, doing the job, they appreciate that and they are more willing to work with you. And they tell their friends about. And so it's like this cycle that I've kind of created, but it didn't happen beautifully. And like, even down to, like, the accounting part and the finance part and the business side, people see all the glossy things of, like, oh, you worked with this. You did this project. You're like, you guys, I'm trying to do this tax stuff right now. Like, I'm trying to figure out, like.
- [23:24]
Les
What'S the state of New York if they send me one more letter about. I don't even know what I'm like.
- [23:29]
Candice Marie
I don't know any of this. Yeah, the finance background did help a lot, I will say, because I come from a finance background, did my mba that was like, my mom's like, you need to do this. Just in case this doesn't work out over here. So I was like, okay, we'll do that. So that did come in handy with starting up my own business, But a lot of it came through. Okay. YouTube tutorials, talking to your friends, Even from a legal perspective for the longest. One of my colleagues that I went to school with, he's a lawyer. He was doing, like, all my. Looking over my contracts for me. He was like, I'll do a pro bono. He's. I have to do amount of pro bono work anyways, like, at my company. So, like, using my community to, like, tap. Okay, what do I do here? What do I do here? I was asking everybody on how to do certain things and setting up, hey, for this, you know, schedule, let's create, like, an outline. Let's create something where we can come back to knowing exactly next year, what do we do? Even down to, like, hiring a staff. That's a whole nother thing where you're like, okay, I'm getting into the position where I can hire someone. I need help. I struggle the longest with being, like, an assistant. That seems so basic to a lot of people.
- [24:29]
Les
But for me, I'm like, no, I'm struggling with that.
- [24:31]
Candice Marie
I'm like, do I do this? Can I afford to, like, bring on someone and pay someone's, like, income? And then once it happened, I was like, oh, my gosh, it freed me up to do so much more because they're taking off those mundane tasks I really don't need to be doing. But even that was a struggle for me. Again, it's been all, like, figuring it out, but really tapping into my community and asking when I need help, is there someone that knows this? Any random person knows, like, an accounting service, a good, I don't know, lawyer. Like, it's just all these little things. When you are a small business living in New York, black woman, you really want to tap into your community. And a lot of times the extension is not too far out. If your community doesn't know, they probably know someone that knows someone that can help you.
- [25:12]
Les
Right? Yeah. The answer often isn't too far off if we're willing to ask for help.
- [25:16]
Candice Marie
And that's the thing, being willing to ask for help and not trying to figure it out all on your own. Because, again, it could be those moments where I'm like, why am I sitting here struggling? And I'll be sitting here, like, looking at the computer, being like, you actually could ask someone about this. There's someone. There has to be someone. And it could be A quick story post like, hey, is there anybody that does this? It'll be up for like five minutes. Somebody, three, four people have answered me, you know, to find someone that I need.
- [25:41]
Les
So, yeah, that's something I'm struggling to learn too. Yeah. Especially the hiring. I reached a point this week where I was like, I need an assistant. I probably needed one five years ago and still haven't done it. I'm like, okay, it will free you figure that out.
- [25:56]
Candice Marie
Even, like from an idea of a calendar even. Just taking that off my plate. I was like, nope, don't do my calendar anymore. I just look at the calendar to know where to go. But someone else is like, managing that for me so that I can do the best that I can in my job. But again, I feel like we also are used to doing everything. And so it seems like, am I wasting money, like to hire or to bring this person in to do X, Y and Z? Or we think because we can do it, that means we should do it. I talked about with video editing, but I was like, did you do that video editing? I was like, for this video? Yes. For this one? No, I outsource. Could I do it? Yes. Do I need to use my skill set right there for this week? No, that needs to be outsourced so that I could deliver on all five clients, including myself. I treat myself as a client for those things.
- [26:43]
Les
Okay, I definitely want to talk about that. But for those things that require you in your zone of genius that are front facing right then, yeah, it's like you save your energy for that. But the back end thing, like editing a video, for example, someone else is on a genius could do that and still have a great end result.
- [26:59]
Candice Marie
Because I was like, nobody can edit. Like I can do. Or no one's going to understand, like, the style that I want. You'd be surprised if you just explain. Like, I have a system now where I use like even like for editing, where I put like my notes in based on like from this second of this second, when I say this, I want it to look like this. And of course, you might have to do like few rounds going back and forth. But that person learns. You have to give somebody grace to learn how to do something that you like. You know, like, no, I can do it. Like, I can do it. That's probably true. But someone can learn it. And if you teach them, just take a little bit of patience and in the long run you'll be able to move a lot quicker with certain projects.
- [27:34]
Les
Exactly. Now I want to Come back to what you just said about treating yourself like a client.
- [27:38]
Candice Marie
Yes.
- [27:39]
Les
Because I love that. Can you talk more about what that looks like for you?
- [27:42]
Candice Marie
I had to have a moment where I was like, I'm doing all of these things for everyone else, even starting YouTube. I'm like, I'm launching other people's YouTube. I'm like making them grow. And I was like, I've been wanting to do this thing. And I was like, you know what I have to do? I have to treat myself like a client. Because the thing is, I wouldn't let a client's work slip through the cracks. Like, I wouldn't make an excuse of why I couldn't do that or oh, I'll get to that. No, no, I make sure I handle that. I had to flip the script within these like last year and a half where I said, I'm going to treat myself as a client this year and put myself more front facing in a way where. And when I say front facing in a way where people know what I do. So I always, like, because my services were more word of mouth, it only came to people that knew like my career or knew like the space that I was in. So like it was more so if you didn't know, it's not that you might would have never reached out to me. It's just I don't know what services you offer. And I think a lot of times people go to your social media and assume who you are and what you do and you're like, that's probably like 5% of maybe who I am. That's what I choose to share. But like everything else, it's really not showing you more than that. And I kind of just wanted to show more like, here's who I am, here's what I do. So you kind of have this foundation of you don't look at the page and like, oh, she just wears nice clothes. Which again, that's not a problem, that's what you want to portray. But I want it to come more off as like this expert within the social media space and for you to kind of own that and for you to see that. And coming with that is that I make sure my social channels reflect that as well. Just like I'm putting in that work for other clients. So I, I think it was like maybe this is now like two years ago where I was like, let me start this off with a series basically where I introduce who I am, what I do. I'm going to somehow like narrow this down and I'M going to do it going into Fashion Week, Paris Fashion Week, and it was so successful. But I think it was more people being, like, even people that thought they knew me, they were like, I didn't know anything about you because you just shared all of these gems. But then I just noticed, treating myself as a client, I started to, like, prioritize and not let things slip through the cracks, which, interesting enough, led to more clients and led to more, like, projects coming my way.
- [29:58]
Les
I think that that speaks to something that you do so well, which is having a really strong personal brand. And I would love to talk a little bit more about that, because that is a question that I get from members of the audience where maybe they want to start some sort of creative endeavor. Maybe they want to lean into their personal brand. They're not fully sure how to strengthen that or how they want to present themselves. What has been helpful for you and how do you recommend people start that process?
- [30:22]
Candice Marie
It's so tricky because I always feel like I'm such a person to re. I would say I don't want to say reinvent myself, but in a certain way, reinvent myself. Like, the way my mind thinks and the way, like, my creativity, I'm creative when it comes to any aspect that I do. Like, I always say, like, whether it's my hair, my clothing, the way I do, like, video editing or how I portray storytelling, I really go all in with that thing. But then I like to try new things. And so when people say brand in the traditional way, I think it kind of sometimes limits you. Where, like, I have to stay in this box. If it's off brand, I can't do it. And I hear this a lot where, like, people are like, oh, I want to venture off into the fashion space, but they only know me for this. And I'm like, everyone wears clothes every single day, right? You, too, can be in this space. Like, it doesn't have to be. Or it could be an and. Like, I also do this, and I do this. I appreciate this space, and I appreciate this space as well. I think when it comes to, like, branding, I think it's just more. So is this something authentic to you? Is it something that makes sense to you? It doesn't have to be like, all my color scheme or everything is, like, same in uniform. I always said when it came to social media, you know, a lot of people were into, like, I need my photos to be a square, because that's what it's going to present on the profile feed. And I needed to all look uniform. And I would always say that you should more so focus on the individual thing to be, you know, not perfect, but, like, you're satisfied with that one thing. You make that thing to the best of your ability. Not trying to look from a profile perspective, but an individual thing. And naturally, your profile will look nice if you work on each individual thing being nice. So I kind of go back and forth with this idea of branding, or maybe it's the traditional way that people use branding, but I think if you're authentic to yourself and it's something that you're interested in, that's on brand, that's something that can fit in there. But to the people that are creative, and you're like, I need to reel it in to, like, be, like, a few things. Something that I did this year was focus on, like, three pillars for myself, where I'm like, hey, I have so many ideas that I want to do. But then be going into this first quarter, here are three things that I'm going to really hone in on. But from an esthetic standpoint, from a styling standpoint, I say if you are interested in it, it doesn't have to really fall necessarily in this certain box every single time.
- [32:44]
Les
I love that, though. I think that there's so much freedom in that, and it's less about putting yourself into a box, and it's more about how you're choosing to show up to tell your story. And sometimes you may tell it a little bit differently, depending on what's going on, how you're feeling, what your priority is. But I actually think that that's very freeing. I like the way you described it.
- [33:03]
Candice Marie
I think there was a moment, too, where, like, I was so stickler about, like, my visuals and imagery and how things that I wouldn't dare take. IPhone photo, like, that's how I would think. And I'm like, that's not my aesthetic, or that's not my. And then I was like, but if I like it, I like it. And it's a little bit more freeing to be like, hey, it's okay that it didn't fit in this particular thing that I wanted it to fit in. I feel like a lot of things that I started to, like, open up more freely about on social media, I would be like, are people even interested in this? Because they know me for this. And then I start seeing those things perform way better because it's hitting home with more people, but it's not in this, like, super polished way. I feel like there's a time and a place too where I feel like certain things might be like for a brand for me. Like you're gonna get your style picks during certain, like you know, Fashion Week. It's gonna have like certain aesthetics to go with it, but also give myself freedom and room to play too as well. Like try new things like open up. It doesn't have to be something that I've seen before. Like let me try something else that I haven't seen before.
- [34:00]
Les
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- [39:23]
Candice Marie
It's definitely sucked a lot of. Because what social media was in the beginning, it's definitely not what it is now. That's something I spoke about at Adweek, where I was like, listen, you're going to be forever chasing this, like, algorithm thing if that's how you're going to view it. And you will put out nothing that you actually are interested in. I tell my clients, at the end of the day, are you happy with this? And that's all that matters. Yes. I can try to do what we can do where I know certain things like the timings to post, the certain, you know, copy to use, just all the little tricks to help it perform. But at the end of the day, still, are you happy with this thing? Okay, good. If you're not, then we can change that. I just think being happy with what it is versus I think people go into it, what are everybody else going to think? Do they like it? No. No. Do you like it? That is the number one question you need to ask yourself before you put it out. And if I like it, it's being posted, whether it gets a lot of likes, views, whatever. You know, that's how I feel about it. So I'm proud of that work.
- [40:18]
Les
And do you like creating it? Do you like it while you're doing it, or do you just like the response that it gets? You also need to like it while you're doing it.
- [40:25]
Candice Marie
That's the thing with trends, too, because, like, a lot of times you're like, you would have never really did that trend. It's more so you're doing it because everyone else is doing it and you're trying to beat this algorithm thing. And it's like, you know that a trend has to start from someone. Right. Someone had to do the thing that no one has done before, and then everyone started copying it and then became a trend. So why not just start something new or try something new? That could be the trend or be the thing that other people follow. Especially when it doesn't feel authentic to who you are.
- [40:57]
Les
There's an element of, I think, bringing play back into it.
- [41:01]
Candice Marie
Yes.
- [41:01]
Les
That is so important, where we can feel more comfortable to experiment and try new things, even if we haven't seen them before and being more playful with it is where I think a lot of that creativity comes in.
- [41:11]
Candice Marie
Yes. I feel like my best ideas come in the shower or when I'm out for a walk and I'm like, ooh, how could this look? And then even a lot of times, if I can't visually tell the story, you work with someone who can help you kind of tell that story. And that's like, even with, like, hair ideas where I'm like, my braider, I'm like, drawing it out. I'm like, hey, do you think this could make sense? And, like, we'll kind of figure it out together. But a lot of times, if you are constantly looking at something, you're almost like constantly chasing something versus if you kind of close everything out. I use this app called Opal where, like, locks me out of my accounts and it's Opal.
- [41:42]
Les
Okay, we'll have to look that up.
- [41:43]
Candice Marie
It's really nice for when the moments where I'm like, I don't want to compare. I think there's this natural. You don't try to do it, but by seeing other things, you naturally start this comparison thing. And so I'm like, let me shut everything out. I know that my creativity is there. I don't have to look at something for that to come and for that spark to happen. So, yeah, just putting your blinders on sometimes is very helpful.
- [42:06]
Les
So helpful.
- [42:07]
Candice Marie
Yeah.
- [42:07]
Les
Okay, so let's say you've used Opal to kind of tune out the apps and you're wanting to get back in touch with your creativity. What are some of the things that you like to do that help you with that?
- [42:16]
Candice Marie
Ooh, I. I'm a bath girl. I started this. I would say it's a ritual. I take a bath every day, and I started doing that because social media is so fast paced and my world could be crazy. Not even at times. It's probably always, like, something happening and I almost need to have, like, this control over, like, okay, how can I step away and separate myself? And so, like, to me, that's a boundary of the phone doesn't come there. This is just the time I can think of. Step away, relax, wind down the night. There's like, ending of. Once this happens, there's no more phone, there's no more computer, there's no more of this thing. I've been taking walks recently where, like, whenever I feel like I'm hitting a wall of. I know I can figure out this thing. I'm trying to be creative, and it's not coming to me, nature, going out, taking a walk. I live on the water, so it's nice to just, like, go out, do my, like, walks in the morning, spending time with family or just, like, talking to friends. A lot of times your creativity comes when you step away from the thing where you're not even thinking about it, being in different environments that you normally weren't in, even when it comes to social media. I started doing this thing where I'm not even on my actual account. I created a curated Fenster of different, like, artists and, like, people who do, like, planting and, like, things that would never show up on my actual feed. Just so it shows me different things I normally wouldn't see, see, and just to kind of block out, like, maybe what my peers, you know, directly who are in my world are doing. About three things that I do to, like, spark that creativity and kind of get those going.
- [43:48]
Les
Those are amazing practices. I love the Fin idea. I have a secret Pinterest account that just has all different. It shows me just all different kinds of things, whether it's like, visuals or decor, textures or color palettes. That's completely unrelated to everything that I do. And it just is like, my happy place to go, escape to.
- [44:08]
Candice Marie
Must. It's so calming. Whenever I go back to my Instagram, like, anxiety, I'm like, over to the Finster accounts, like, not look at anything or similar to Pinterest, like, Cosmos. I don't know if you heard it that I haven't. I say it's like the editorial version of Pinterest, like, the glossy version of, like, all the editorial, like, images and, like, you can pull up old magazine, like, visuals, but, like, like, it's more like the curated, I guess, version. But I have, like, so many mood boards on there. When I'm just like, I want to be creative. I want to think about, like, different things and just, like, scrolling in a way that doesn't feel like I have control over it. I feel like naturally our hands go towards our phone and we start scrolling, which is why I used Opal, where I was like, okay, you're doing this a little bit too frequently. And I like to have control over what I'm doing and be conscious that I'm doing it. But I feel like when I'm on my computer and I actually looking for something and I'm scrolling through visual, that I can actually take it in. It's like that appreciation is there.
- [45:03]
Les
Absolutely, yeah. You can enjoy the art for what it is when you're savoring it a little Bit more slowly.
- [45:07]
Candice Marie
Yes. Yeah, I love that. Thanks, girl.
- [45:12]
Les
I would love to go back and also talk more about your non profit that you started. Even before we were recording, we were talking about an event that you did in Chicago earlier this week. But I would love, also love to talk more about the work that you do in that space.
- [45:24]
Candice Marie
I feel like that has been something that I almost call it, like a slow burn where, like, starting it. I remember telling my friend, I was like, I have this idea. And just knowing how busy I am, I was like, I have this idea. I said, but I know if I do this thing, the impact that'll have. And I almost wish that I would have had this, like, being in these spaces, like, starting off in the beginning. And she was like, just know if you start this that it will impact people and it will be like the help that a lot of people need. And just doing it, I felt like I started it. So many, like, people reached out to me just to help. Let me start there, like. And the people that have been with me from the beginning, I think it's like six black women that have helped me run black and corporate. And we meet like, every other week and just go over, like, here's the things that we have coming up. How can we help people in a way? But for me, the main thing that I thought about when I first created black and corporate was mentorship, and how can we change that to sponsorship? And I based it on my experiences being like, the way that I've maneuvered in my career has always been through someone of, like, whether it was that relationship building or like, having a boss that, like, you know, actually cared and leaned in, or having that colleague that referred your name and said your name in a room that you were not in. And I was like, how can I replicate that but do it for multiple people? And so, like, the idea that I had was a mentorship program, but we're connecting, like, younger corporate individuals with more seasoned corporate individuals. And I also feel like once you get out of college, people kind of forgot about you. That. Yes. You know, when you're college, you had all of these programs, but where is it at when you're like, younger in your corporate career? So I feel like this could be such a great resource. And I remember just organically reaching out to colleagues, being like, would you volunteer as a mentor? And everyone was saying, yes, like, yes, yes, yes. And then we had, like, the natural, like, organic signups, and people were like, yes, I want a mentor. And naturally going into Black Lives Matter like that was a very exhausting time for people who were working in these spaces. And we're like, yeah, all of this is happening and I still need to get this report to you by such and such at 4pm and no one is understanding, like, the trauma that I'm feeling within these spaces. So we started that mentoring session based on the people that I knew and my colleagues. And then I had another colleague reach out being like, hey, I work at caring. Which caring has, like, Gucci and like your Bottega, like, all under one house. And he's like, we would love to see what that looks like, bringing you all in black and corporate and doing, like, a mentoring session. And so it ended up being fab. And I was like, I love this for us. And the people got to be mentors. We basically took more seasoned professionals within caring and open up applications and people. I think we narrowed it down to, like, 50 for each cohort. You got paired with a mentor. And over the time frame, you not only met with your mentor, but you also got to bring in. We brought in, like, the CEO of Gucci. CEO of, like, different. It was Bottega. I'm missing one. But you got to sit there and ask them questions. And I was like, this would have never happened on a regular day that you're sitting here asking a higher up to this, like, level, how do I maneuver in this space? How do I become or, you know, move into this fashion space? And the story that I love is that there was in the mentoring program a young lady who was actually working in retail at Gucci, and she applied, and we were like, is she allowed to. I asked him, I said, hey, can we let her, you know, apply? And they were like, yeah, this should be fine. Because they weren't thinking that somebody within the company would try, you know, to be a part of the program. And then while we were sitting in the meeting and everyone, I think the CEO of Gucci wanted everyone to basically say their name. What do you do? So when she heard that the young lady worked for her after the meeting, she was like, can you pass me her information? Because her whole thing was, I'm trying to move from retail side to the corporate side. And it's like this wall that's like, I can't get over there. And so that opened up a door for her instantly. Because of connecting and the power of connecting. We know that by someone, you know, connecting, you can change your entire trajectory of your career. And that definitely happened for her, but then that happened for so many others. I met two Young ladies the other day where they approached me, they're like, you don't know me, but I was a part of your program with caring and that I'm still in touch with my mentor. They've helped me get like, this job. There was another woman at Luxottica. She was like, I'm the VP now here because of that program. And I was like, these are the stories I love to hear because you know that it's actually making a difference. I was like, let's take out this middleman situation because I just want to connect the people who need connecting and let them handle it from there. So that's kind of what started, like, the mentoring program. And for us going into this year, we were like, how does it look like after the pandemic? How do we do more, like, in person? How do we, like, actually create this community? And so we just recently went to Chicago, did a collaboration with H and M where we did like, beyond the break room is what we called it, and had a nice panel from like a few people from Chicago. A therapist that sat on the panel, someone that worked at YouTube previously and brought in all of these individuals who were in the Chicago area and they got to ask questions and us to basically uplift each other being in that corporate space. And I said it was a full circle. I actually was reading an email coming here and he was like, thank you so much. Like the team. This was actually so nice. But seeing that community is there, you just have to be willing to connect with people. But yeah, black and corporate holds like a very special place in my heart. Because when you don't think you're really helping someone, having those people reaffirm that this is helping me. This has done something for me. This has changed my career. I almost want to put people in the position where you're like, I wish I had this during this time frame. So we're hoping to do more of those pop ups throughout the summertime with.
- [51:14]
Les
H and M. And that's something that can really change the trajectory of someone's life. Like getting them connected to the right people in their careers, getting them into the right roles, on the right path, will literally change the trajectory of your life.
- [51:26]
Candice Marie
Yes.
- [51:27]
Les
So incredibly important. Something that you touched on, and I would love to kind of elaborate on this for the audience is the difference between mentorship and sponsorship.
- [51:37]
Candice Marie
Yes.
- [51:37]
Les
Can we talk more about that?
- [51:38]
Candice Marie
Yes. At first I didn't even know, like, I was like, I don't understand, like, the difference. They're like, but do you have a sponsor And I'm like, what is a sponsor? They're like, this is somebody that we're talking about, like, can make a financial difference in your life. So while this person might say like, hey, I can mentor you and give you like advice and give you like the trajectory and road for this individual to come in and say, this is the person you need to hire, they change my trajectory financially. And that's when we talk about sponsorship of it's putting money into my pocket. It's basically from a long haul perspective. It's going to help me. Even I say like, product helped me lay the foundation to be able to go out on my own. Like even being there because I was like, got paid really well. But then that set me up for success. But that wouldn't have came without a simple conversation. He's at dinner being like, this is who you need to hire. So it wasn't even like me saying, I went in, I had the conversation. It wasn't your traditional interview. Those tables start to turn of I'm looking for opportunities. So those opportunities are being offered to you. So, you know, having a mentor is extremely important. But I feel like having those people who are sponsors and that's life changing. You know, both are life changing. But then that hits in a different way.
- [52:54]
Les
That's what gets you into the rooms that, you know, you may not be able to work your way into otherwise by yourself.
- [53:01]
Candice Marie
And again, leading back to that power of connection and talking to one person that leads to it. It's like this little thread which I kind of like said, like, that's how my career has kind of been mapped out, where I'm like, I can pinpoint someone at every stop. That was the person that got me to this. That was the next person that got me to this. And full circle of people connecting. I also want to say, coming from a place of maybe more so being black, we also don't realize that a lot of times like our peers outside of that, like, this is what they've been doing. And so like learning that because again, when I said I didn't even know what spot, like when someone's like, do you have a sponsor? I'm like, what is that? You know, I have a mentor. Like, is that not the same thing? But it's like, no, these are how they have been getting into rooms. And so when we're able to do that amongst ourselves and our community. And for me, I really want a black and corporate to be that. I'm like, no, I want to make the difference where they're like hey, I pinpoint this and this is how it changed my career trajectory. Like that's ever changing.
- [54:00]
Les
So, so important. Candace, thank you so much. This has been so, so good, so many gems. But before we go, I want people to know how they can work with you, how they can continue learning from you. Whether that's about social media, whether that's about brand partnerships, whether they want to get involved with black and corporate. How can people do that?
- [54:18]
Candice Marie
Oh my goodness. So for partnerships, if you want to look at my page I always say Instagram Marie underscore mag. I feel like you can type in Candice Marie at this point. I feel like I have that SEO power now. But like my personal page, a lot of people hit me up. Anything educational wise you will see on my personal page and like usually a quick comment we DM you like everything for that happening consulting my email. Everything is like on like bio things for black and corporate. The black and corporate email is there. We constantly get emails of people wanting to join our community and like whenever we have something that pops up in a city, we keep those emails on file. And we did the same thing for Chicago and all those people like came out. So definitely email or Instagram.
- [55:03]
Les
Perfect. And we'll make sure we have all of that information linked in the Show Notes.
- [55:07]
Candice Marie
Thank you.
- [55:07]
Les
Thank you so much for joining.
- [55:08]
Candice Marie
Thank you for having me.
- [55:16]
Les
Thank you for tuning in to this week's episode of she's so Lucky. If you're ready to create your own luck, hit that subscribe button wherever you get your podcasts or on YouTube so you don't miss an episode and head to the Show Notes for resources, links and discount codes. And if you are really feeling lucky, we would appreciate your rating and your review. It really helps us be able to improve improve the show, to get great guests and to understand what you want to hear more of. Thank you for tuning in and I'll see you next week.
- [55:48]
Candice Marie
Hi, I'm Dr. Will Cole. As a leading functional medicine practitioner, I have had the unique position to see so many alchemize their pain and health problems to their purpose. Now I want the same for you. This podcast is the manifestation for a new breed of health seekers where there is a fresh infusion of grace and lightness into wellness. This is the art of being well. Join me every Thursday for a new episode.
- [56:16]
Les
Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.