Early Accountability

LaToya Franks of Avid Innovative Solutions LLC joined us for this episode of the Early Accountability Podcast to talk about her journey to a flexible and fulfilling work life that would allow her to homeschool her daughter. LaToya has experience in call centers, government tax revenue, and security sales, and in all of these professions, she felt stuck in a rigid daily routine just to make ends meet and barely get to spend any time with her daughter. She knew that she needed a change, so she reached out to as many resources as she could to find a flexible way to work from home and homeschool, striking the perfect balance of family time and bringing in income. LaToya has secured contractors from many companies, including some Fortune 500 companies, to remotely handle their customer service calls and has begun signing contractors to assist with the customer service calls that come in. LaToya has finally found the non-traditional work environment that she was looking for by determining what she really wanted for her life, intentionally choosing to have a healthy mind, and developing a sense of peace with her environment. Topics Covered in this Episode: -Making your job fit into your life, rather than the other way around -Overcoming obstacles with courage -Finding your best job fit

EAP 38: Preparing for a Healthy Marriage While You're Single or Still Dating by Kimi Walker

Todd Parker of Parker Education & Development LLC joins us on this episode of the Early Accountability Podcast to discuss using personality mining to build up the climate and culture of schools and small businesses. In a very practical sense, teachers and other professionals cannot do their best work and affect the most change in their students or clients if they do not first understand themselves. By going through a strengths-based assessment and “personality mining” process, individuals gain valuable self-awareness and understanding of their mind, body and spirit needs and motivations. These individuals have the opportunity to influence how they interact with each other, with their leaders, and with their students or clients by leading by example and experience. A few of the entrepreneurship lessons that Todd has learned in the past several years are: • If you put in the work, you can do what you may not have expected • Make sure you grow from obstacles and failures, rather than being discouraged by them • Pursue your passion and trust that the right opportunities will come up Topics Covered in this Episode: • Being a mentor and being mentored • Entrepreneurship lessons • Using self-reflection and self-awareness to be more effective

Our guest on this episode of the Early Accountability Podcast is Lyris Green, a DJ in the Atlanta area. Early on, her dad instilled and encouraged in her a love for music that has remained a passion throughout her life, even when it was not her profession. After her father’s passing, Lyris grew in her relationship with God and she felt that it was time for her to leave her job in public service to be a DJ full-time, grounded in her faith. She now knows that she is exactly where she needs to be, and she constantly speaks affirmations to herself in the midst of the ups and downs of life. By cultivating her God-given gift in the area of music, Lyris is able to give that gift to the world and be confident in her role as a female in the industry. She urges others to pursue their passions with confident faith and make the best decisions for themselves, trusting that they can do anything they set their minds to. Topics Covered in this Episode: • Having the courage to pursue your passions • Following the leading of God and your intuition • Being confident as a female in a male-dominated industry

On this episode of the Early Accountability Podcast, we are joined by LaShonda Brown, a serial entrepreneur and marketing guru. LaShonda has created and runs Life Focus Pictures which helps local businesses tell their stories, About 90 Marketing which is a marketing consulting firm, and Eye for Ebony which is on a mission to increase the quality and quantity of stock images available that feature people of color. In order to manage these brands day-to-day, LaShonda has established tried-and-true systems that allow her to integrate her clients and their needs into her workflow and then provide them with her expertise and guidance throughout their process. When it comes to content creation, she believes that everyone can use their strengths and personality traits to determine how they want to communicate and share their message in the optimal space. Despite what people think, businesses do not need to have a presence on every social media platform, but would in fact be more effective targeting their efforts towards one or two. If you are in a spot where you have to work full-time to support your lifestyle but you have a passion project on the side, LaShonda encourages you to treat your passion project like a full-time job as well. It will be tiring at times, but by investing in your passion project early on by developing a professional brand, building up and email list, and budgeting, you ensure that your dream is scalable when the time comes to make your passion project your main source of income. Topics Covered in this Episode: • Building your passion project while you have a full-time job • LaShonda’s key tips for marketing your services • Using a daily routine to make you more efficient • Managing multiple brands at once

Lakrisha Davis, a career coach, speaker, and success mentor, is our guest on this episode of the Early Accountability podcast. Coming from a Human Resources and Recruiting background, Lakrisha is strategically equipped to help the job seeker and entrepreneur align their true passion to their desire and need to make money. Lakrisha has always been told that she has a gift in the areas of motivating, challenging, encouraging, and mentoring others, and she has found a way to monetize these gifts. She wants to help others find their niche as well. By taking advantage of networking on and off of LinkedIn, she has found great success in meeting the right people, curating opportunities, and making and receiving referrals and references. She encourages job seekers and entrepreneurs to join the conversation in whatever online or offline community appeals to them and assists them in reaching their goals by consistently talking about your passion and sharing your struggles as well as your successes. It may not seem like anyone is listening to you, but your impact can truly not be measured, and as long as you are reaching one person with your posts, it is worth it. We all depend on each other for inspiration and support. Lakrisha has a wealth of resources on her website (below) and is, herself, a great resource in the areas of resume and cover letter writing, career coaching, and business coaching. Topics Covered in this Episode: • Monetizing your gifts and talents • Pursuing your passion • The benefits of networking on or offline

Our guest on this episode of the Early Accountability podcast is Bianca Jackson, LinkedIn guru and founder of Jax Digital, LLC. By being intentional with her digital brand, Bianca has found a sweet spot of telling relatable and encouraging stories from her everyday life and gaining credibility through this authenticity. She helps small businesses, job seekers, and freelancers seeking clients push past their frustrations associated with work to achieve their performance and success objectives. When it comes to social media, connecting with and commenting on the posts of people who inspire you will provide you not only with networking for your mutual benefit but with a platform to potentially help your acquaintances and clients with future job opportunities. By being seen as an expert in your industry, you can build up a tribe of people who listen to what you have to say and want to be involved with whatever you put out there. Your expertise and authenticity in interactions will make all of the sales you need. Also be sure to listen more to your fans than your nay-sayers, because your fans will encourage you to do more of what you are good at. Specifically online, you can build up a following of people you have never even met, but who will contact you when they need your services because they know the quality of your work and your character. Topics Covered in this Episode: • Using LinkedIn for networking and storytelling • How to be authentic on social media • Using your platform responsibly • What to pay attention to in your analytics and what to ignore

On this episode of the Early Accountability podcast, our guest is Debraca Russell of the Agape Career Counseling Group. Drawing upon her experiences in retail management going through the interviewing and hiring process, Debraca coaches her clients through resume creation, job searches, and the interview process. Whether you think you know what career you want to pursue or not, she recommends that everyone take a personality assessment that will help align your personality traits to the potential careers in which you could have the most success. You should be happy at work, not continually unfulfilled or uncomfortable. If you are looking to change careers or pursue a promotion, be sure that you find out what the hiring managers are looking for and work hard to genuinely portray those attributes. When it comes to resumes, Debraca’s crucial advice is to be consistent, be honest, and be grammatically correct. If you did not complete your degree or certification, do not list it on your resume. Additionally, if you are to have unexpected gaps in employment, finding places in your community to volunteer will help keep you mentally sharp and your resume satisfactory. Keep on pursuing your dream career until you are able to make it a reality! Topics Covered in this Episode: -The most common resume mistakes -How to set yourself up for a promotion or a new career -Making yourself a desirable candidate -Determining what career may be right for you

Our guest on this episode of the Early Accountability Podcast is Maya Tyler, who was suddenly and tragically widowed when her children were very young. When her husband died in a freak accident, Maya desperately searched for resources that could help her know what she was supposed to do next, but there was nothing out there that fit her situation. As she found her way, she dedicated herself to helping other people in her situation find their own road maps to healing. Despite the stigma in the African-American community around mental health and the expectation that women “hold their own”, no matter the circumstances, she sought help through therapy. Maya’s outlook on life changed completely when her therapist said “You know who you are now. Who do you want to be next?” At the time, she had no idea who she wanted to be or how to get there, but now she provides resources for other women to accept their situation, assess themselves and their environment, and create an action plan to become who they want to be. This is a process, but Maya’s best advice is to just keep moving forward. Topics Covered in this Episode: • Recovering after a great loss • Grief, depression, and anxiety • Figuring out who you want to be next

On this episode of the Early Accountability Podcast, we are joined by Anitra Durand Allen, a family and relationships coach and a parenting and lifestyle content creator. A gifted child herself in the areas of academics, athletics, and performing arts, Anitra recognized the need for content aimed at the parents of high-achieving children when she struggled to find it. Anitra came from an engineering and project management background in corporate America, and when she realized the benefit that these skills could be when applied to her household, she decided to use her newfound affinity for the online community to transfer her knowledge to other families seeking advice on life with gifted children. Oftentimes, high-achieving children are very advanced in capacity and intellect, but they need some guidance to develop socially and emotionally. By meeting them where they are and following a process that will help them understand and cultivate their behavior, families can communicate with love and effectiveness. Topics Covered in this Episode: • How to develop the interests of your high-achieving child • How you can transfer your skills from work to home • Being loved in a safe space • Parenting and lifestyle content creation

Kimi Walker's guest on this episode of the Early Accountability Podcast is Jas Thomas, a community leader who has started the Girls with Goals Movement to make positive images of women of color more prominent in society. Jas takes a very hands-on approach to this movement, often hosting “empowerment events” that include a social aspect as well as a panel discussion with professionals in the fields of physical health, mental health, and financial wellbeing. She has also recently started a program to help women achieve goal clarity and be provided with the motivation and accountability they need to succeed. Jas has found that there is a barrier between interacting with an online community and actually meeting with those same people in person. She has built her network with relationships cultivated individually both online and in person, and her advice is to reach out to those people you know you can touch or could impact you. Online, you can easily engage with the social media posts of those people who interest you, and you can search Eventbrite for events in your area where people you want to network with may go. Topics Covered in this Episode: • Starting a movement • Overcoming hurdles to achieve your goals • Networking advice • Creating positive images of women of color

On this episode of the Early Accountability Podcast, Kimi is joined by LaDeia Joyce, who found out on September 29, 2016, that she had HIV. She took the next year to document her journey and dwell on Psalm 23 while only a handful of people knew about her diagnosis, and on September 29, 2017, she held an event during which she publicly disclosed her status for the first time. LaDeia has experienced first-hand the stigmas and misconceptions about HIV since her diagnosis, and her goal is to provide resources and support through her blog, videos, and events to others who may be going through the same journey. In the early days and weeks after learning her status, LaDeia searched for resources to help her process and cope, but she found that if she wanted an African-American woman’s perspective, she would have to be the one to give it a voice. Over the past nearly two years, LaDeia has found great comfort in her relationship with God and through consistent therapy sessions. She encourages everyone to get tested and know your status, and do not be afraid to have conversations about HIV. Topics Covered in this Episode: • Overcoming an HIV diagnosis to help others who are struggling • African-American woman’s perspective on HIV • Disclosing HIV status • Misconceptions about HIV

Ebonee Monique Thompson, owner and founder of The Persona Agency, joins us on this episode of the Early Accountability Podcast. Ebonee is a published author and social media and content expert who began consulting in response to the number of requests she received after the publication of her second book. She got her start by winning the Elevator Pitch contest through Black Enterprise with her idea for Momma I Want To Write, a ghostwriting company that would help people without the time or talent to write their own stories. Momma I Want To Write evolved into The Persona Agency when Ebonee saw the need for content writing and strategy and social media management in addition to ghostwriting, and The Persona Agency now exists to help businesses tell their stories. Ebonee’s advice to those who want to start writing is: • Write something every single day • Grow comfortable with being authentic and transparent • Don’t be discouraged by your areas of weakness – find someone who can do those things for you Ebonee’s advice for storytelling on social media: • Use whatever method makes you feel the most authentic • Talk about your struggles • Video is a great way to tell your story Topics Covered on This Episode: • How to create your brand • Authentic storytelling • Advice for beginning writers • Services of The Persona Agency

EAP 26: Perfecting Your Digital Marketing + Visual Strategy by Kimi Walker

On this episode of the Early Accountability podcast, we are joined by Justice J. Wali, an urban motivator and life coach. Growing up an only child in the South side of Chicago, Justice was easily influenced by the gang and drug cultures around him, even becoming a gang member before changing his ways. He began spending considerable time with his grandmother at home and at church, which he believes saved him from making more negative life decisions. In 2005, he moved to Minnesota, where he found opportunities and possibilities that had not been available to him in Chicago. He decided to use the underutilized skills of listening and finding solutions in the context of urban living to encourage and coach others who find themselves in negative situations like he grew up in. He is now the father to 3 intelligent sons, who follow examples over advice, and in 2015, he began public speaking engagements to share his acquired wisdom. Justice’s advice to others considering public speaking is to believe that your voice is important and you have a story to tell. Most local libraries will allow you to hold an event for free, and this is a great way to practice your speaking skills. You can be successful at whatever you want to become if you commit your mind to it and set aside an hour every day to brainstorm ideas or solutions.