The Urban Income Show

In this episode of The Urban Income Show, Marjorie Dudley, an elite sales performance coach, shares her journey from graphic design to sales, emphasizing the importance of continuous learning, growth, and a strong mindset in achieving sales success. She also discusses the significance of sales leadership and the value of coaching. The conversation also covers the challenges faced by women in sales, the power of radical candor, and the importance of mentorship for young individuals. Marjorie also shares a personal story about her daughter's entrepreneurial journey, highlighting the importance of teaching financial literacy to children.

With 20 years of experience, Marjorie excels in sales and new business development. Her journey began by selling books for the Southwestern Company during college. Marjorie specializes in cold calling, networking, revenue growth, and effective referral solicitation. She's passionate about helping clients achieve their goals, using a proven five-step approach. Marjorie is dedicated to training sales professionals, managers, and entrepreneurs to boost their results systematically. Her clients range from multi-million dollar organizations to solo-preneurs, all striving to meet their strategic and revenue targets. She holds an MBA with honors from Willamette University and a BFA in Graphic Design from Western Michigan University. Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of The Urban Income Show:

• Importance of sales leaders being in the trenches with their team
• Continuous learning and growth in sales
• Mindset component in sales success
• Sales skills applicable in various roles and industries
• Importance of challenging oneself and seeking out difficult opportunities
• Importance of practice and improvement in sales
• Having a clear vision and being obsessed with goals
• Sales leadership and managing a sales team
• Challenges faced by women in sales and advice on navigating them
• Importance of mindset, growth, and seeking support in sales success
• Radical candor and reframing difficult situations
• Surrounding oneself with positive influences and learning from others' stories
• Value of being a lifelong learner and utilizing free resources
• Importance of focus and clarity in achieving success
• Advice for young individuals, including seeking mentors and being entrepreneurial

Resources:

• Southwestern Consulting
• Urban Income
• Growth Skills

Connecting with Marjorie Dudley:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Website

Connecting with Lavall Chichester:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• YouTube

Quotables:

• 12:03 - Marjorie Dudley: “We don't grow when it's easy, right? So I would challenge everybody like, are you really doing the hard thing? There's a book called The Comfort Crisis. It kind of hit me like a ton of bricks. And he talked about how when things get easier and we've kind of got easy, most of us, I don't want to over generalize, but most of us kind of easy lives. We go to the grocery store for our food, we turn the temperature up or down in our house. We have a car that gets us anywhere. And so for most of us, we've got it pretty easy. And he said, when we get used to things being easy, it's not that we're able to do more hard things. Our bar for what's hard gets lower.”
• 15:30 - Marjorie Dudley: “We have a saying in our culture, in our company that says you can't teach what you don't know and you can't lead where you won't go. So one of the best things a sales leader can do is really be willing to be in the trenches with their team. That might look a little bit different based on the structure of different organizations. But how are you leading either what you know or getting to know what you're leading? And how are you teaching from a place? Actually, you and I talked about this recently, like how are you teaching from a place of having actually done it and not just theory?”
• 17:07 - Marjorie Dudley: “If leaders come humble, if leaders lead from a place of example and then also leaders have to be hungry, you know, leaders actually have to be the hungriest person in the room. We have another kind of cliche saying, but it comes out a lot of my coaching calls that your people will do half what you do right and twice what you do wrong. So, kind of kids, too, right? We both have kids like you got to lead your kids from example, right? Nothing will humble you like parenting either. But if we are not the hungriest people in the room, we can't expect our team to be hungrier than we are.”
• 18:16 - Lavall Chichester: “I think your advice is priceless. It has been priceless to me because when I met you, I was taking on, you know, my dream job of being a chief marketing officer. I was like, Oh, you know what? I'm a marketing guy. I know that, but I probably need a Sales-Sensei. So I work with you. And then I was working on my contract at the time with them and I was like, Hey, And you're like, What else do you know? How about negotiation? And then, you know, you told me to really never split the difference. And then like, we practice our script. And that was the most uncomfortable thing in the world,like writing out a script, all that stuff And now I got the best result out of that.”
• 20:15 - Marjorie Dudley: “We talked about a process to follow for negotiation. But just like if you were on a, you know, football team and you guys learned a new play or if you were in a theater troupe and you got a new script, you're not going to go out on stage or in game time and execute that thing flawlessly without practice. And I've coached a lot of people over the years and the amount of times that, you know, I've offered or worked with folks to say like, Hey, practice this conversation and record it, and then we'll dissect and debrief it together. Like let's actually script it out. Sometimes Scripts is a dirty four letter word for a lot of people in sales because I don't want to sound like a robot. I'm like, The only way you don't sound like a robot is if you practice.”
• 28:55 - Marjorie Dudley: “And so was it was that really cool epiphany that sometimes we need a coach because some things challenging, sometimes we need a coach because we need accountability. Sometimes we need a coach because, you know, we need to work on a particular skill set. But sometimes we need a coach because things are great and we need that outside perspective to go like, how can I get even better when things are great? During COVID, I was going to church in my living room, as probably many people did. And our priest was giving the sermon and he just said, we're here to grow and serve. And it just hit me like a ton of bricks. if we're just going along hunky dory without that growth, wherever you are just starting or the top of your field, what are you doing right now to grow?”
• 36:17 - Marjorie Dudley: “It was referenced in radical candor by Kim Scott and they talked about changing interview processes to do something that's a blind process. So they specifically referenced an orchestra, I want to say, in New York. But when they started blind interviewing just on like a tape that someone sent in, not like of their playing, n...

In this episode of The Urban Income Show, Yong Kim, the of CEO Wonolo, a company driving the future of work, shares his background, journey, and advice for job seekers. He discusses his unexpected path to entrepreneurship and the challenges he faced as a teenager trying to find work in a new country. Yong emphasizes the importance of mentorship and perseverance, highlighting the impact of a teacher who gave him a second chance. He offers advice for job seekers, stressing the need for effective self-presentation and research on companies and individuals. Yong also shares insights on job searching, fundraising, leadership, decision-making, sleep, and managing money.

Yong Kim, the CEO of Wonolo, a company that is revolutionizing the way we work, shares his personal story, experiences, and valuable advice for those seeking employment. Kim is an immigrant from South Korea, who launched two companies before turning 40 and advises C7 Ventures and Sequoia Capital. He began his career at Analyst Group and later Deutsche Bank, holding degrees from the University of Chicago and Harvard Business School. Following success in investment banking, he joined Coca-Cola's Startup Accelerator in 2013, sparking his journey with Wonolo. Since its 2014 inception, Yong has served as CEO, and the company now boasts over 300 employees, one million workers, and thousands of partner companies. He's secured over $200M in venture capital for Wonolo's growth. At home, Yong finds humility, gratitude, and happiness, inspired by his wife and three daughters. Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of The Urban Income Show:

• Yong Kim's background and journey as an accidental entrepreneur
• Challenges faced by Yong Kim as a teenager trying to find work in a new country
• The impact of mentorship and the importance of words and actions in shaping someone's life
• Advice for job seekers, including effective self-presentation and research on companies and individuals
• Advice on increasing success rates in job searching and fundraising, such as targeting specific companies and following up multiple times
• The importance of persistence and follow-up in the sales process for entrepreneurs
• What makes a good CEO and leader, including self-awareness, skills in managing teams and resolving conflicts, and personal style
• Insights on decision-making and the importance of sleep
• Regrets and lessons learned regarding money management
• Advice for his younger self, including focusing on personal growth and challenging situations rather than money or prestige.

Resources:

• Wonolo
• Urban Income
• Growth Skills

Connecting with Yong Kim:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter

Connecting with Lavall Chichester:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• YouTube

Zahir Khoja, CEO of Wave, shares his inspiring journey and insights on The Urban Income Show. He discusses the importance of authenticity, investing in your field, and driving financial inclusion. Zahir highlights key qualities of successful CEOs, the benefits of Wave as a financial management solution for small businesses, and the impact of partnerships like the Shorty Awards and Elevate Creatives Fund. The conversation also delves into remote work, side hustles, wise money management, and the satisfaction of helping others succeed.

Zahir Khoja, Chief Executive Officer of Wave, brings a wealth of experience to the podcast episode. With previous roles as General Manager at Afterpay and Executive Vice President at Mastercard, Zahir's career trajectory highlights his expertise in global merchant solutions, partnerships, and market development. Tune in to hear his insights on leadership, financial management, and driving innovation in the industry. Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of The Urban Income Show:

• Zahir’s background and family values shaped his career and success.
• Zahir encourages individuals to be themselves and embrace their uniqueness in business and life.
• Empathy for your team, career development, and a shared vision are essential for success as a CEO.
• Don't be afraid to charge premium prices if you offer premium services.
• Wave helps small businesses manage their cash flow and provide coaching and bookkeeping services.
• Thinking long-term rather than seeking quick gains can lead to significant financial growth.
• Having a financial plan and setting goals are important to achieve financial stability and prosperity.

Resources:

• Wave
• Urban Income
• Growth Skills

Connect with Zahir Khoja:

• LinkedIn

Connect with the host Lavall Chichester:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter

Quotables:

• 24:30 - “And that would be my advice is, you know, whatever you're going to do, just be the best. Be the best. There is no role in this world that is to be ashamed of, every role is part of our ecosystem today. And I th ink you should be proud of it.”
• 24:53 - “Small business entrepreneurs typically don't know how to price, right? How do I price my service? And there's also a mindset of, well, I'm a small business, I'm not the big guy, or I'm not a big corporate, I don't trade on a stock exchange or anything, so maybe I can't charge as much. Well that's not necessarily true. A majority of jobs and a majority of the GDP that's generated in this world today is from small business. So collectively, you are the biggest in the world collectively.”
• 33:49 - “Look at Mr. Beast. Mr. Beast is like one of the like totally crazy money, but he's being himself, right? And you know, and it just literally goes back to the advice that you gave. He wasn't trying to be anyone else. And a lot of these creators that that's what they're going out and doing. They're being themselves. They have a very unique angle on what they're saying, whether it's an influencer and I think some people, you know, hate that word or, or they think bad, bad about it. But you even see it from a business standpoint, LinkedIn, there's a ton of people now out there that are growing their brand.”
• 43:02 - “I wanna share this with you real quick because yeah, I think it's important, at Growth Skills, we believe in using our skills for good and, and building things that allow our team, our employees and staff to do that. So we built spreadlove.org, which is just a tool that allows people to spread hope and inspiration via anonymous email. So let's say, I know I have your email, I heard that, you know, God forbid someone in your family has cancer, I could send you just a little kind note and all it asks, and it's anonymous because when someone receives this type of email, they don't know who it's from.”
• 34:44 - Lavall: “So let's talk about AI. How is any of this, are you using this to weaving in AI or anything like that to help small businesses within Wave?”.. Zahir: “Yeah, so I think, you know, there's, AI is obviously a hot topic this year. a lot of buzz around it. And I think it will have, it's going to have some positive impact for There's small businesses. It will help them create efficiencies to work smarter and spend more time really doing what they do best. And instead of, you know, some of the, the menial tasks that they don't like doing. Yeah. You know, as a company, we're always listening to our customers and figuring out the best way in which we can add value to what we offer to them.”

In this episode, business consultant Tara Nolan talks about the significance of personal branding and sustainability. The benefits of meditation and financial planning are also discussed, as well as Tara's personal story of spreading love and standing her ground in both personal and professional settings.

Tara Nolan is a conscious marketer and business consultant with a global background in communications and business development. She is passionate about sustainability and positive change, collaborating with brands and individuals who share her ambition. Currently pursuing a meditation certification, Tara brings a holistic approach to aligning values with ambitions. Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of The Urban Income Show:

• Tara Nolan is a conscious business consultant with a focus on sustainability in marketing.
• Sustainability can be integrated into personal branding by aligning with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
• Brands can tap into sustainability by focusing on specific goals, collaborating with others, and sharing best practices.
• Manifesting new ideas and products can lead to personal and professional growth.
• Reacting with kindness when faced with a life-threatening situation is crucial.
• Recording incidents versus taking action is a disheartening reflection of society's priorities.
• The message to the younger self: Stand up for yourself, be kind, and never tolerate mistreatment.

Resources:

• TKN - Tara Kennis Nolan
• Urban Income
• Growth Skills

Connecting with Tara Nolan:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter

Connecting with Lavall Chichester:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter

Quotables:

• 14:55 - “Having this ability to create this personal brand for yourself that's rooted in your authentic self and, and where you see yourself going, is more important than ever these days for a couple of reasons. One being the way that we consume content, generally speaking, and from social to any which way, there's someone behind that message. And I think, especially as we see the rise of AI happening, there's lots of benefits to tools we can leverage to make this work of personal branding work for us. However, there's still the human element that's absolutely essential and that is not going to go away, right? And it's only going to become more important. In fact, I think it's probably the strongest competitive advantage to AI is being able to express yourself and show who you are as an individual.”
• 18:40 - “Being strategic and smart and authentic to your business and your brand and what your consumers appreciate and being able to focus so that you can create the most impact is the most important thing. And so if you don't have a certain resource or capability that you know would help fulfill on your mission, go find someone else that has that because you probably can find a shared mission at the core and that way you can do more together.”
• 36:42 - “I think that especially as like minority, underserved communities, you could focus on the negative of things or your situation, but I think everyone has something amazing that someone else has done for them that you could be thankful for. And thinking of those things really, you know, puts your energy, your mind in a different way.”
• 37:35 -  “I had, you know, a home situation where I was breaking up with my ex, had my first panic attack passed out, fell headfirst into the train tracks, almost died. A random person pulled me off the train tracks and saved my life. I was just given up to the universe and the universe said, no, this dude is going to pull you off the tracks. Right? I wake up, and I get out of the hospital, I wake up in the morning and I come home and my friend calls me and this friend is like, he is properly a DJ now. And we, we created this site that allows people to give hope and inspiration through an anonymous email. And I think because of things like that, that's why the universe sort of saved me and said like, you're not done yet.”
• 32:50 - Lavall: “What do you wish you did with your money sooner?”.. Tara: “Mm, great question. I was thinking about that, that this morning I wish that I had worked with a financial advisor sooner. I wish that I had looked, you…”.. Lavall: “Need to” .. Tara: “I really do. I mean, what I was smart about doing always was 401k maximum contribution. Absolutely. So always putting that in because you know, I knew when I was like in my mid-twenties, I said to myself, you know what, I have a sense that I'm probably not going to be in corporate forever, so I need to do this now.”

In this episode, Susie Jaramillo shares her valuable experiences and expertise in building powerful brands, highlighting the significance of celebrating and promoting the rich heritage of Latino culture. She delves into the fascinating realm of AI in marketing and animation, shedding light on its transformative potential. Additionally, Jaramillo provides valuable insights into the realm of personal branding, navigating real estate investments, and making a positive impact through non-profit initiatives. The episode also explores the importance of utilizing SEO strategies to shape online content and promote positive messaging to counteract negative narratives.

Susie Jaramillo, an Emmy-nominated director, artist, storyteller, and entrepreneur, is the Co-founder and CEO of Encantos, a leading producer of world-class entertainment brands for children that celebrate diverse cultures. With her creative vision and dedication, Susie has brought to life the award-winning preschool brand Canticos, a bilingual powerhouse with millions of streams and a wide range of educational products. Her passion for storytelling and commitment to fostering early childhood development has garnered industry recognition and made her a prominent figure in the children's entertainment industry. Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of The Urban Income Show:

• Latinos are a great target market for consumer products, as they overspend in proportion to what they earn.
• Genuine relationships and a strong network can lead to future opportunities and success.
• Being a jerk in advertising or any industry never gets you anywhere and can harm future opportunities.
• Susie believes in building with kindred spirits
• Susie aims to present Latin American nursery rhymes to help children become bilingual
• NFTs help Encantos Media Studios to connect directly with their supporters
• Canticos spreads love by targeting negative keywords in online searches and promoting positivity.

Resources:

• Encantos
• Urban Income
• Growth Skills

Connecting with Susie Jaramillo:

• LinkedIn

Connecting with Lavall Chichester:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter

Quotables:

• 04:11 - “I feel like there's this identity crisis that happens in the United States because there are so many Latinos from so many different places of Latin America in the United States, right? But once you're here, it's really important that we recognize that we're all one thing, we're all Latino, whether you're from Cuba, we're Puerto Rico, Mexico, whatever. Especially because that's how you're perceived by everybody else.”
• 27:29 - “So the Latin kids, they're not getting taught their history. They're not being represented, and now you have like an administration that came in, have really, you know, just cast a shadow on the entire Latin community that has always been an integral part of this American tapestry. And so I kind of found my calling in telling stories that hopefully will appeal to everybody, because I don't tell stories just for Latin people. I tell wonderful Latin stories for everyone.”
• 39:22 - “But what we're using it, for now, is like, if you search online, are women evil, the answers are yes. And so, you know, this white supremacist shot up a black church because he did a search and found some fake stats. So the second way we're using our skills for good is SEO, is we're targeting all those words. We're answering, we're pushing love. So when someone searches are women evil, all those types of things, boom. We're gonna, we're populating the internet with love.”
• 56:20 - “Because AI's coming for people's jobs, and it's coming faster than they think. And the thing is that it's not about, you could be the best talented person, but what you need to start learning how to do is, is learn the AI, use the AI to do your job faster and better. I truly believe now everyone has to start becoming their own personal brand with their own personal awareness. Attracted to them because it's going to be, the future is going to be very small teams doing the work with AI.”
• 11:20 - Lavall: “People want to glorify on entrepreneurship, but it's not for the faint of heart. And you have to love what you do otherwise, it's like, it's grueling. The only thing I would say is you have to have partners that offset your skill sets. Cause like you said, like Suzie said, she's good at what she's good at. I'm sure she has partners who excel at what they excel at. And that's how you get it done.” .. Susie: “That's exactly right. You can't, you can't be the bride and the bridegroom. Like, know your strengths. Know your strengths and compliment your weaknesses. And the weaknesses are nothing to be ashamed about, by the way. Like, nobody does everything. I think weaknesses need to be acknowledged and need to be complimented so that you can lean into your strengths.”

In this episode, Jess Cook shares her experience in the marketing industry and the importance of allyship in promoting diversity and inclusion. She also discusses building a personal brand on LinkedIn, using AI tools for content creation, and making financial decisions based on clear goals. Additionally, Jess explains the symbiotic relationship between demand capture and generation in business.

Jess Cook is the Head of Content at LASSO, a seasoned professional who has made a remarkable transition from being a creative director to excelling as a content marketer and strategist. With over 15 years of experience, Jess has an impressive track record of conceptualizing and delivering exceptional work for renowned brands such as Eggo, Rice Krispies, Blue Cross, Cottonelle, and McDonald’s. Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of The Urban Income Show:

• Casting a wider net for interviews can provide valuable insights and skill-sharing opportunities beyond narrow demographics.
• Identify trends in successful posts to determine what your audience wants more of from you.
• There is no competition in personal branding because everyone has their unique experiences to share.
• Event production companies can benefit from software like Lasso to manage projects, inventory, and crew scheduling.
• Demand capture is for people who already know they have a problem and are seeking a solution.
• Demand generation is for people who may not even know they have a problem yet.
• A smaller pool of people knows they have the problem, while a larger pool is yet to be aware of it.

Resources:

• LASSO
• Urban Income
• Growth Skills

Connect with Jess Cook:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter

Connect with the host Lavall Chichester:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter

Quotables:

• 23:47 - “So I think the first thing to know is like, think about yourself a year ago, two years ago, what would you have needed to hear then to be better at your job, to be more confident to try something new, right? So post [on LinkedIn] about that, like think about helping yourself from two years ago with every single post. And that I think helps kind of spark some ideas of like, what could I write about what wasn't I good at two years ago that I'm really good at now that I could help people with struggling with those same things.”
• 48:37 - “And so I think maybe the, the, the best advice that I could give as a total non-finance person or, or you know, definitely not any kind of accountant is what is the end goal? Do you want to retire? Do you want to travel? Do you want to have a vacation home? Like what is that thing? And then put everything toward that so that you can make it a reality.”
• 08:51 -  “I've been lucky throughout my life, I've had literally mentors who've saved my life, right? And guided me in precious moments where I was going hard down the wrong, wrong direction. It's just like ‘Hey, just take a minute, breathe and I know it's going to happen. You should go this way’. Yeah. And that really, really, really helps. So I think also if you're listening, seek out mentorship. I think that's really important. People don't know that a lot of people want to give back.”
• 26:18 -  “I've been consuming a ton of content about around AI in the future and what, you know, experts are predicting and, and all of these things. And I, I'm starting to feel like because there is going to be job loss, right? And I really think unfortunately, and I think that it is people like you who have built a strong personal brand that will always be in demand, right? That will always hold on to their job because one, you have your own audience. Two, you sort of protect because you have your passive side income.”
• 17:30 - Lavall: “You don't get 17,000 followers overnight. How important is that to your career journey?”... Jess: “I think it is the main tent pole of the rest of my career journey. I think my, when I initially started, my goal was I don't want to ever have to actually apply for a job again. Right. And that was a really big deal to me. I didn't ever want to have to fill out that form. Right?”

In this episode, Andy Dé, CMO at MedeAnalytics, talks about his journey as a first-generation immigrant and his passion for healthcare innovation. He discusses the potential of AI and analytics in healthcare, challenges with generative AI, and Google's search experience. Dé shares his strategies for effective marketing and aligning purpose with career goals. Additionally, Andy provides insights into standing out in the job market through thought leadership and continuous learning.

Andy Dé is the Chief Marketing Officer at MedeAnalytics, a pioneer in Healthcare Analytics and Artificial Intelligence. With a transformative leadership approach, Andy drives strategic growth and customer-centric marketing initiatives, resulting in 100% customer retention and significant brand impact. Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of The Urban Income Show:

• Discrimination and negative comments should be used as motivation to rise above expectations.
• AI and analytics are merging in healthcare, enabling predictive and prescriptive analytics to enhance productivity and decision-making
• Healthcare organizations had to deal with scheduling, surge capacity, physician burnout, and nurse confrontations during Covid-19
• Saving as much as possible and avoiding debt are crucial for managing money
• Continuous learning and staying ahead of change is essential for success
• Valued employees can often receive funding for executive education from their employers
• Utilizing LinkedIn's Pulse can showcase your thought leadership to potential employers.

Resources:

• MedeAnalytics
• Urban Income
• Growth Skills

Connecting with Andy Dé:

• LinkedIn

Connecting with Lavall Chichester:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter

Quotables:

• 07:16 - “I think people from the country I come from, India, have done extremely well, right? We are the most educated, the most qualified and successful ethnic minority group, right. With the CEOs of Microsoft and Google and, you know, Adobe and countless other companies. So I think that has helped, it has helped drive the brand perception of people that look like me. And I think it has paved the way… it has opened up doors, it has broken through the glass ceiling where people that look like me are making it to the, you know, to the C-suite.”
• 30:38 - “I think striking that balance from a life perspective, getting help, don't try to do it all on your own, right? If you are, if you are a marketing professional or you are a product professional, that doesn't automatically make you a great investment expert, right? So like everything else, take the reach out, find good investment advisors who can advise, who can craft a strategy, get the right balanced portfolio for you, and then help you maintain and grow, right? And, create your wealth.”
• 31:50 - “If you have a principle of I won't keep debt, I won't have debt, then you'll be less tempted to do that “Buy now, pay later”. Because you're standing for something in a small adage. If you don't stand for something, you're gonna fall for anything.”
• 32:03 - “You're going to do the buy now pay later, because you don't have the cash right now. But you'll want the thing. So instant gratification, you're going to buy it. But what's going to happen is that's called debt. And if you do that more and more and more, you could fall into the trap where you're o you know, you're over your head and then an emergency happens. Yeah. Where you actually need money, then you have to take out a loan or something.”
• 42:45 Lavall: “One thing that I loved in that, that was in there too, is like you took it upon yourself to write it and publish it, and yes. And so your willingness to work is really what, really what set that apart.”.. Andy: “Exactly. You have to hold extra mile. There are no shortcuts, right? Absolutely. And especially, again, if you're a minority person, you have to go the extra mile.”.. Lavall: “Absolutely.” .. Andy: “You get, you have to get to a point where no one can question why you are at the table or why you are at the room, right?”

Marguerita "Rita" Cheng, CEO at Blue Ocean Global Wealth, shares her journey to becoming a certified financial planner and the importance of empathy and communication in building relationships with diverse clients. A personal finance expert highlights the benefits of starting early, automation, and investing for retirement. Cheng also discusses the importance of advocating for oneself in the workplace and seeking advice from allies.

Marguerita Cheng, the Chief Executive Officer of Blue Ocean Global Wealth, is a prominent figure in the financial industry. Leading with expertise and passion, she spearheads comprehensive financial planning and wealth management solutions. Additionally, Marguerita is actively involved in promoting girl empowerment as a key contributor to Girls on the Run International. Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of The Urban Income Show:

• Blue Ocean Global Wealth's strategy focuses on providing financial advice and wealth building opportunities to clients of all portfolio sizes, not just those with large sums of money.
• Build cash reserves and pay down variable debt to recession proof finances
• Start investing with small amounts, either through a retirement plan or a dollar cost averaging arrangement
• A Roth IRA offers tax-free benefits in the future
• Advocating for oneself is important in achieving financial goals
• Women may be wired differently when it comes to advocating for themselves in the workplace
• Seeking advice from male allies can help overcome apprehension about asking for raises or other opportunities

Resources:

• Blue Ocean Global Wealth
• Urban Income
• Growth Skills

Connecting with Marguerita Cheng:

• LinkedIn

Connecting with Lavall Chichester:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter

Quotables:

• 05:14 - “Dad felt that it was important that it wasn't just for boys, it wasn't for girls, it wasn't for men, it wasn't for women. It is for everyone. Everyone needs to know about money. Dad felt that money doesn't necessarily buy happiness, but managing your money well is very important because money can bring opportunities.”
• 07:23 - “People do business with those they like and trust, and people feel safe when you get them, when you understand them, when you take the time to understand their story and where they're coming from.”
• 25:55 - “And when you, when you think about why do you think that some people don't take control of their finances, right? I think it's taught, you know, a lot of us are taught about finances and that primes them. But, and I said I think some people have fear about, oh it's like I'm already in a trap, like I can't get out of it. Why else?”
• 32:03 - “When I was starting out too, I realized that if the money does not come into your, your check, and it just goes automatically into savings, like you said, you don't have to think about it. And two, you, you're, you are, you get trained on living within the lower amount, right? So if you take 50, 50 bucks out of your paycheck, let's say every month, you get used to living without that 50 bucks, right?”
• 30:56

Lavall: “Why can you explain the benefits for the audience of a Roth IRA, what it is and, and why it's beneficial?

Marguerita: Sure. So a Roth IRA can be very helpful. Now each year the IRS does raise the income guidelines as well as the maximum amount you can contribute. But the benefit to the Roth IRA is while you do not receive any tax savings today, the money can go tax-free in the future. So that's beneficial. Anybody, it's never too late.”

Rahul Sabina, EVP, and Chief Creative Officer at iHeartMedia, discusses the growing importance of audio in marketing and how iHeartMedia is expanding into the Metaverse. He also emphasizes the potential benefits of AI in creative jobs and shares his personal experience with work-related stress and the importance of prioritizing one's health and happiness.

Rahul Sabnis, an accomplished creative leader, has made a significant impact throughout his career. With notable roles such as EVP, Chief Creative Officer at iHeartMedia, Rahul's expertise and innovative approach have played a pivotal role in shaping the company's creative direction and success. Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of The Urban Income Show:

• The integration of media and creativity is crucial for success in advertising campaigns.
• iHeartMedia in the Metaverse is a new way to connect with audiences and create meaningful experiences with immersive events.
• Rahul pursuing a career in advertising and leadership despite being told he wasn’t creative.
• A need for positive and unbiased search experiences to fight back against hate speech and false information.
• AI can skip past the boring and scary parts of creative jobs.
• Freelance work can offer financial success but requires partnering with others.
• Prioritizing experiences over material possessions can lead to greater happiness.

Resources:

• iHeartMedia
• Urban Income
• Growth Skills

Connecting with Rahul Sabnis:

• LinkedIn

Connecting with Lavall Chichester:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter

Quotables:

• 18:28 - “Now the cool thing about radio though is radio is actually a philosophy, not an object. It's a style of communication. In fact, podcasting owes its roots to radio and the it kind of talk radio and the informality of this, when you think of podcasting, we think of what we're doing right now. Exactly. It's kind of loose conversation unscripted that keeps us connected together to each other in a very almost human, like most, the most human way, which is just conversation, right?”
• 22:20 - “Our app that we have was built on the radio business, which is a megaphone that talks to real America every day. And so the biggest miss still that marketers don't understand is that 9 out of 10 Americans listen to the radio every day. Yeah. Just wait a minute for a second. Like 9 out of 10, 90% of America listens to the radio in some form. It touches people that much.”
• 43:04 - “Like AI won't replace you. The person who knows how to use AI will. Right. So, correct. Get up there, and, like, there's so many free resources online to learn how to prompt into engineer how to do all these things. Just get after it and learn how to use AI.”
• 45:50 - “But if you're building an asset, like an app, like a website, like an email list, those types of things, you can monetize that. Just be specific with the intention. Be specific with who's it for, what problem you're solving.”
• 50:05 - “Especially in your twenties, live because you won't get those years back while you can. And you want to use those years to really kind of experience to define who you are. And you don't know who you are yet. So you might as well let the experiences kind of shape the person you will become one day.”

This episode, SparkToro’s VP of Marketing, Amanda Natividad, talks about building a personal brand, connecting with niche audiences, and the importance of having a media kit.

Amanda Natividad is the VP of Marketing for audience research startup, SparkToro.

Amanda is also a contributor for Adweek, a Le Cordon Bleu–trained chef, and a former journalist. Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of The Urban Income Show:

• How being a second–generation immigrant shapes your work and spending habits.
• How to reach new prospects.
• What makes content high quality.
• Ways to identify overlaps in audience behavior across different industries.
• The benefits of using SEO instead of paid media.
• How marketing skills can help you progress your career.
• The benefits of discussing career development with your boss.

Resources:

• SparkToro
• Urban Income
• Growth Skills

Connecting with Amanda Natividad:

• LinkedIn

Connecting with Lavall Chichester:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter

Quotables:

• 11:32 – “You have to collaborate with people that you might not have chosen to collaborate with, right? Just like it's a bunch of random people, and you're all working towards the same thing. You might not be friends, but it doesn't matter, right. You have to work together. So there was the element of that, like you just gotta make it work with people.”
• 22:04 – “I don't want to be that for somebody else. I don't want to tell somebody I worked really hard and did this shitty thing for so many years, and now you have to. I think there's a way to mentor or manage people and communicate that they have to pay their dues or do the hard work. Yeah. But I don't think that's the answer”
• 49:42 – “It's never too late to start that blog. That brings me to the menu because I see that you have that and tell me about that because I think everyone should have some sort of side hustle, whether it's to generate, like build your craft, your personal brand. Tell me about that. And I love your media kit, your media kit set up. I sat back, and I was literally hitting the plate like how to pronounce your name, your last name.”
• 54:30 – “It's fun to do, right? It's fun to have something for yourself where it's your thing. You get to do whatever you want on it. No one can tell you what's wrong, you know, it's just your space. I think it's fun and healthy for everybody to have that for themselves.”
• 08:50 – “It was the thing that I wanted to do. Right. And because it was different work, right? Sitting at a desk all day and then cooking all night, like in the setting that is optimized for cooking. Yeah. Because it is a little bit different from just slaving away in your kitchen, for sure. Like, that's a different feeling. But I was like at a place, I was in my uniform with other students, so it was a change of environment and pace that it didn't feel exhausting in a way that one might think. Yeah. Like, yeah, when I came home, I was tired, I wanted to go to sleep, but I wasn't like burnt out, tired. It was just like, oh, I had a full day.”
• 29:27 – “It is your job as the employee to make sure that you are given a career path and goal and to make sure that your boss is… you're matching towards that, and you're having those meetings because, and I think it's regardless of whether you're in an uncomfortable situation where you're, whoever's treating you and authority is treating you poorly.”
• 38:22 – “So, Growth Skills is a growth marketing firm. We do like the SEO content market and all that stuff. We had a challenge of reaching the cannabis and CBD audience for a client using paid media. And we couldn't. And then I said, this is an SEO opportunity, meaning using content to grow organically.”

This episode, Aura’s Growth Leader, Irina Maltseva, shares insights on creating epic content, leveraging AI tools for research, and optimizing workday productivity for success in Google rankings.

Irina Maltseva is a seasoned marketer with over a decade of experience driving revenue growth for SaaS companies through inbound marketing. With her expertise in creating a safer internet at Aura and running her own consultancy, she empowers SaaS businesses to enhance their online presence and organic traffic. Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of The Urban Income Show:

• How integration, such as combining SEO and paid ads, will be key to maintaining visibility on SERPs.
• How properly using AI tools such as GPT and Jasper can simplify the research process
• Which tools can help in creating meta descriptions, FAQs, and recognizing definitions.
• The importance of keeping a work-life balance to be productive.
• The ways to stay up to date with industry news to continuously learn and improve.
• Why getting enough sleep is crucial to productivity.
• Why working smart is more valuable than just working hard.

Resources:

• Aura
• Urban Income
• Growth Skills

Connecting with Irina Maltseva:

• LinkedIn

Connecting with Lavall Chichester:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter

Quotables:

• 11:01 – So at some point I decided to switch to SaaS, to startups. And when I was working for my first SaaS company as all the SaaS companies we wanted and we needed to start a blog. So we started to write articles and you know, we check out Google links, no one's written them. Okay. So we have a problem and we need to fix it.
• 12:18 – Cause being like a PR specialist, you have to work a lot with the content. At that time, I had to write a lot of like, articles, press releases. I did a lot of like interviews, et cetera. So I knew how to create a good content. Right. The only thing that when I started working on SEO, I didn't know like the, you know, these technical things Yeah. Like how to build backlinks, how to do like, you know, website od et cetera. But this is something that you can actually learn yourself, and there are so many great materials online. So it's just easy to learn if you want to.
• 13:05 – I would say launch your own block and experiment with it. So find the topics that you're patient about. Launch a blog, you know, on the WordPress it's like $0 per month probably you'll need to buy a theme if you want something like more advanced. Or you can just pick one of the free things, start creating content, start building backlinks, start optimizing your website for speed, start checking your rankings and see how it's growing.
• 26:16 – Yes. I like, I mean like if you want just like to create a website with some content without thinking about it. Okay. If it's like you don't want to use like organic search as one of the acquisition channels, you can probably use it if it's like your, I don't know, like a CV or like, like website that you use, like as a business card, like whatever, you can do it. But if you want to get like organic visitors from organic search, you should definitely work on a content yourself. But you have to use AI tools like GPT, Jasper, like any other tool, like a bar to help you with your research. These tools are really good for that. If you need like, it, it's, it's, it simplifies a lot the research process. You don't have to meet, you don't have to read now like 100 pages of like a content on a specific topic. 
• 16:10 – As a marketer, I realized that I can bring my expertise and a value in terms of creating in-depth reviews on SaaS marketing tools. Because you know, sometimes for me, it's difficult to find a tool by checking like the reviews because all, all of them it is like not tested by someone or like, not really in depth or like very generic, let's say, you know, with, with AI you're like many people, you know, write the same information, and it's hard to make a decision basically on someone's hands-on experience. So they, it's hard to find a person who really tried, tested and gave their own opinion on it and like, I really want to fix it, you know, cause I've tested like hundreds of different tools because I'm in, in marketing for a long time and I wanna share my exp my experience using them. And in the future, like when this website start to get some traffic to monetize it, basically like disaffiliate with affiliate. Cause most of the marketing software, they have the affiliate programs. So that's the easiest, easiest way to, to do monetization. 
• 10:36 – “So I, I think for everyone listening, you know, when things are hard sometimes you have to take the time to actually focus on them, manage them, get them done, communicate that with, with your employer and your, your peers and friends and family or whoever you have to, to, so that you have the time and, and, and you're able to, to, to do that. But taking the time really, really helps.”
• 15:36 – “I would say you just learn so much when you're building your own site. And that's how I learned, too. I was a creative, I was an English major, I wanted to be a novelist, so I wanted to write books and stuff. And I stumbled upon SEO and I, I taught myself and I had, I remember building all these sites and, and when I got into advertising, I realized that like a lot of people around me, they didn't know anything about SEO.”
• 23:13 – “And basically what Irene is saying is that the first result when you do a search, Google's going to use their version of chat g p t to pull in information and answer those questions. And then that search will, you could continue that search, it'll remember what you search for, and you basically could have a discussion, and it'll show different things. But what that does then is it basically pushes any result lower under the fold, including that first organic result, right?”

This episode, Play Like a Girl’s Founder and CEO, Dr. Kimberly Clay, talks about how her nonprofit is using sports to encourage girls to pursue STEM careers, how she engages brand partnerships, and why STEM is such a valuable field for young girls.

Dr. Kimberly Clay is an experienced nonprofit executive with a demonstrated history of working in the STEM and sports industries.

Kimberly is an academician with a PhD in public health, and is dual-trained in social work and communications. Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of The Urban Income Show:

• How to connect girls with opportunities that help set them on a pathway to economic freedom and financial opportunity.
• Why the STEM field is important for women who want equity and parity in pay.
• How to engage brand partners.
• The importance of pivoting during the pandemic.
• The value of investing at a young age.
• Finding a career that is the right fit for you.

Resources:

• Play Like a Girl!
• Urban Income
• Growth Skills

Connecting with Dr. Kimberly Clay:

• LinkedIn

Connecting with Lavall Chichester

•  LinkedIn
• Twitter

Quotables:

• 13:16 – “That's when we decided to align the work that we were doing in sport with stem, STEM in particular because we understood that girls also lose interest in stem at about the same rate as dropping out of sport, going from middle school to high school, girls drop out at twice the rate of boys. And we understood that STEM right now represents the one set of disciplines that almost provides equity and parity and pay for women. So when we talk about, you know, reducing and preventing the intergenerational cycle of poverty, we do that through the empowerment of individuals through education and through access to money. And so that was really the decision process behind how we restructure programming in 2016 to truly live out our mission and our name as play like a girl.”
• 14:47 – “So costs become more of an issue when you look at middle school to high school transition in sports, in particular travel and the cost related with travel sports and travel clubs becomes more of an issue. What we also know is the confidence issue that presents itself very uniquely. I think also within the context of coaching, not everyone is trained to coach a girl. Girl ha girls in middle school that age range of development are also e experiencing a lot of changes in their body, their emotions as well. And so they're just a multitude of issues and barriers for girls preventing them from continuing. The other piece is that, again, representation. Many girls aren't seeing women go into a long career in sport, like professional sports in particular.”
• 26:36 – “Today I got the news that one of our most stellar young women who we also funded with a college scholarship about two years ago is the 66th Ms. Hampton University. So she will be reigning next year and representing her institution. For me, Hannah Ss represents the best of my life in this work. She is the full circle moment. She represents every girl that we've touched, whether that girl continues on and pursues a STEM degree or a non-st stem degree. This year we are also supporting another student here in Nashville in McClenan, who is our first student to actually sign to play a sport at the collegiate level. She'll be playing golf of all sports, which we introduced to our girls.”
• 29:06 – “While we have a large number of white girls, we suffered a deficit of girls of color when we moved our shop to Dallas and then transitioned to Nashville. It was not until the pandemic when parents were hard-pressed for programming to engage their kids outside of them doing, you know, the day-to-day schooling thing that we actually saw a surge in black and brown girls. And so part of my challenge became saying yes to brand partnerships instead of saying no, because I found myself saying more, no, because I knew that it was a checkbox ask, it was not intended to truly make impact. Some of them that it was just about the demographic, not about the people, the girls that we were serving. And so as a, a gatekeeper to our community of women and girls to our community of persons of color, as a personally committed individual, but also a person who is consciously committed to being responsible about my role as a gatekeeper. I struggle because money will come, it definitely comes, but I had to make some really hard decisions when saying yes.”
• 36:35 – “Good leaders have to know when they've done the job assigned to them. And for me, I know that time has come, I'm 48, that's young, but I have other goals. I'm very entrepreneurial in spirit. My husband also, we've always owned multiple companies and done consulting work and employed other people. So we have some other dreams we want to live out as well. The other pieces that our kids are now out of our home. So they're, allowing us to be empty nesters and discover life in a new way as we approach what we hope to be retirement at, at about 55. So I want to be a wife and a mom in this chapter of life, which, you know, most of our parents didn't get the opportunity to really enjoy their post, you know, career life. Many had short lives after that or, you know, were forced back to work because of economy and all of that. So for me, I want to be able to enjoy the fruit of my labor and enjoy that with my family. We spent years raising our children, now it's time to celebrate with them as they grow into young adults themselves.”

This episode, Vangst’s Founder, Karson Humiston, talks about the future of the cannabis industry, how she helps people get jobs in the cannabis industry, and how cannabis employees can get related qualifications.

Karson Humiston is the Founder and CEO of Vangst where she helps people find jobs in the cannabis industry. Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of The Urban Income Show:

• How to get jobs in the cannabis field.
• Becoming an entrepreneur while in college.
• The future of job creation in cannabis.
• Ways for cannabis employees to stand out from the crowd and get hired faster.
• The importance of SEO and content creation.
• The power of investing in your 20s.
• How to accumulate wealth while keeping burn low.

Resources:

• Vangst
• Urban Income
• Growth Skills

Connecting with Karson Humiston:

• LinkedIn

Connecting with Lavall Chichester

•  LinkedIn
• Twitter

Quotables:

• 07:17 – “The people that you surround yourself with play such a big role in however your life shapes out. There's a great saying that you become the five people that you spend the most time with. And so I was really lucky that my dad was an entrepreneur. And so I grew up around watching him build his business, the highs and the lows of seeing an entrepreneur. So I had an idea of what it was. And also I had the support of saying, I'm moving to Colorado to start graduana a lot of people would have said, are you out of your mind? You need to go get a job. But my, my parents were very supportive of it. And so I think that the people that you surround yourself with play such a critical role in, in what you do.”
• 10:38 – “The bottom line is that people are consuming cannabis and purchasing cannabis. And it's here, and it's here to stay, and it will create jobs. And I think that when the going gets tough is when there's even more opportunities. So I absolutely would never give up just because something got a little bit tough. And it actually motivates me because I think a lot of my competitors and others are giving up and calling it a day. And I would never do that.”
• 18:55 – “We can learn so much from what businesses have done really well and what businesses haven't done well and create, to your point we don't, I think you fall into a mistake if you say, as an example, indeed does this. So banks needs to do this because there's different dynamics at play for every business and every industry. So I like to be careful that we don't just straight up copy someone, and we want to find our own, be authentic and be true to ourselves and do what's best for us while of course learning from the best and the biz e every day.”
• 35:18 – “The people that you spend your time with are so important. And so the person that you choose to spend the rest of your life with is probably the most important decision that you'll ever make. At least that's how I feel about it. Yeah. Yeah. I met Jeff. We have a mutual friend, a guy named Burke. I went to college with Burke. He was Jeff's best friend from growing up. Burke was a couple grades ahead of me, so I didn't know him super well. And Jeff moved out to Colorado, and we got connected through Burke and yeah, now we're getting married.”
• 45:35 – “I think I would just say to my younger self, it's going to be okay, take a breath. Like, the sky is not falling. I have a flaw. It's what I call the chicken, little chicken little syndrome. So the sky's falling, and it's still a flaw, but I think I've improved it and the things that I thought five years ago when I look at the situations where I truly thought the sky was falling, you look back five years later and that was nothing, right? So I would just tell myself that the sky's not falling, it's going to be okay. You know, stay true to yourself and your values, and it will be okay.”

This episode, Doola’s Co-Founder, Arjun Mahadevan, talks about his immigrant background and how it led to creating Doola, the importance of content and consistency in building a successful business, and how to take advantage of asymmetric opportunities and plan for success.

Arjun Mahadevan is Co-founder and CEO at Doola, a trusted partner for confidently launching a US company from anywhere in the world.

Previously, he was Co-founder at Standups.io, and prior to that started on the Data & Analytics team at Dropbox before moving to Product Manager on the Growth team. Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of The Urban Income:

• The entrepreneurial opportunities in America, and how living in America made it easier to start a business.
• The rising importance for businesses to have a digital presence.
• The importance of building a personal brand.
• How to create and grow social channels.
• Ways to reduce the amount of time a project takes with proper planning.
• Why everyone needs to have sales skills.
• What makes cold email campaigns successful or unsuccessful.

Resources:

• Doola
• Urban Income
• Growth Skills

Connecting with Arjun Mahadevan:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter

Connecting with Lavall Chichester

•  LinkedIn
• Twitter

Quotables:

• 3:06 – “You completely uprooted your life and moved across the ocean to America. And my parents are both doctors, they had to redo their residencies. Right? And I don't know how much you know about residencies, but they're a grueling multi-year process. They have to redo those just to practice medicine. And I asked them why and they said, as cheesy as it sounds, it's the opportunity that America provides access to American jobs education, the unique cultural mixing pot that America provides that maybe nowhere in the world can truly come close to. Right. And American opportunity careers, jobs and entrepreneurship is a huge one too. This idea of the American dream.”
• 4:12 – “We think that talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not. And by making it click button easy for a founder from anywhere in the world to start their dream business, we're increasing that opportunity and helping everyone access American entrepreneurship.”
• 10:46 – “I genuinely believe everyone has some sort of side hustle or idea inside them. It, it doesn't mean you have to build rocket chips to go to Mars like Tesla or SpaceX or Tesla's cars bit SpaceX. You could sell t-shirts, you could maybe you like art and you wanna design coffee mugs there. There's so many different types of businesses and everyone has, I think that inner artist or that inner creator in them. And most of the businesses globally, they're not venture-backed C corps. They're not raising capital from investors. 99.999 add nine more 9% of companies out there or LLCs or S-corps. But someone who's just bootstrapping a business is a side hustle and that's how everything can start.”
• 11:33 – “You are the average of the people you spend time with. They've actually done studies on this. It's called the five chimps theorem. But if you look at five chimps in the zoo, you can pick any one of those chimps and predict very accurately it's behaviors. And what it'll do by looking at the other four we're we're influenced by the people around us. But what's cool about today I think is that, and this gets into content, I think the power of content is back in the day, and this is pre-internet, pre-social networks, literally the people around you is who you would see, right?”
• 16:44 – “But you can't just throw crap at the wall and hope it sticks too. You're testing and you're iterating. But if there's this slug where you're figuring out what works, what works and then every once in a while you get an inkling of something that works. But it's, it's, it's kind of like not death by a thousand cuts but like growth by a thousand cuts. You're just chipping away, chipping away, filling the bucket, filling the bucket, and then all of a sudden you look at it and you're like, oh it's working. But there's, there's always that pivotal moment.”

In this episode, Casa Verde Capital’s Managing Partner Karan Wadhera talks about how he started a cannabis fund with Snoop Dogg, the investment opportunities adjacent to the cannabis industry, and what’s happening in the cannabis e-commerce space.

Karan Wadhera is the Managing Partner at Casa Verde Capital, a cannabis venture fund where he leads investment strategy, fundraising, and management of the firm.

Karan also provides leadership and guidance as a Director on the board of over 10 companies and is an experienced finance professional who held senior roles at Goldman Sachs and Nomura.

During his tenure at Casa Verde, Karan has invested in more than 20 portfolio companies, collectively raising more than $1bn in funding. Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of The Urban Income Show:

• How Karan started a cannabis fund with Snoop Dogg
• The unique challenges of marketing cannabis companies
• The benefits of investing in ancillary cannabis businesses instead of operation-focused companies
• Different businesses are adjacent to the cannabis industry
• How alcohol companies are responding to cannabis legalization
• How the stigma around cannabis is changing
• Social equity and diversity within the cannabis industry
• What’s happening in the cannabis e-commerce space
• How to get involved in the cannabis industry
• The habits you need for financial success

Resources:

• Casa Verde Capital
• Flavor Fix
• Benzinga
• Miss Grass
• Vangst
• Seamless AI
• The Urban Income Show
• Growth Skills

Connecting with Karen Wadhera:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter

Connecting with Lavall Chichester

•  LinkedIn
• Twitter

Quotables:

• 8:49 - “There are so many challenges that are specific to cannabis that traditional business can’t solve so to what you said all the advertising channels that if I was just a sparkling water brand I wouldn’t have the same issues for if I was manufacturing gummies.”
• 11:43 - “There’s the potential for a huge tectonic shift of what cannabis’s role in society is if you compare it to alcohol we’re still a nothing business globally which is a good cop similarly to tobacco or pharma or wellness there’s huge chunks of industry that we can go after so it can be tempting sometimes to lose focus or look outside your lane but it’s important for us to remain on track.”
• 20:34 - “There’s a huge disconnect between the people who have been disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs and those who are benefiting from it now as legalization is happening so trying to bridge that in any way we can is very important and obviously at Casa Verde as Founders we’re all people as color as well so it all resonates in its home.”
• 25:01 - “The biggest thing I did that really started helping me thinking about money was starting to invest pretty early on basically right as I left college was when I first started investing so I was working at Goldman Sachs I was on an equities floor we’re talking about stocks day in day out and it felt kind of crazy that I wasn’t doing anything myself so we opened up accounts internally and started actually buying into these businesses that we were super excited about and I think that’s a very scary thing to do initially just parting with your money in any way for the hope to get more later is scary no matter how risky the investment is or isn’t but that first step I think helped.”
• 27:37 - “There’s just, including this podcast, infinite resources to learn from, you don’t have to leave your couch to listen to the smartest people in the world talk about a host of subjects so now every moment I get I have a hundred episode cue ready to go for podcasts, I don’t know if I’ll ever get through it.”
• 32:59 - “Keep burn as low as possible in life where you can we all want to look for ways for more passive income and increase revenue here amazing if you can do it but another way is if you keep your lifestyle as light as possible again it’s just so much opportunity, I don’t think I would have had the courage to jump into an industry like this and leave my job and go without income for many years if I hadn’t built up a little bit of a nest egg and done that primarily by keeping my spend and burn low.”

In this episode, Beth Paretta's journey from working in the Alpine ski business to the automotive industry and eventually becoming a race team principal. She shares her insights on how to manage a race team, the importance of sponsors, the benefits of being bilingual, the need for financial independence for women, and the importance of taking advantage of grants and networks available to minority business owners. She also outlines the importance of watching races, picking a driver to root for, and getting involved in amateur racing. These points emphasize the need for more diversity in corporate America and the role that minority business owners can play in helping to achieve this goal.

Beth Paretta is the CEO, Team Principal of Paretta Autosport, a professional women-forward racing team in INDYCAR working to inspire and encourage diverse paddocks around the world. In 2021 she founded Paretta Autosport to champion diversity initiatives across professional racing disciplines including the NTT Data INDYCAR series and the Indianapolis 500.

Beth was named one of AutoWeek magazine’s “Secret People” who will change the car world; as well as a “Game Changer” by Sports Business Journal for her work with Grace Autosport. She is on the Board of Directors of the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in Daytona, Florida. She resides near Detroit, MI. Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of The Urban Income Show.

• Beth Parretta's career journey from the Alpine ski business to the automotive industry and then to race team principal
• The importance of problem-solving skills in business
• Being respectful and thoughtful
• Advocating for yourself
• Fans can have more access to IndyCar races

Resources

• Urban Income
• Paretta Autosport
• Growth Skills

Connecting with Beth Paretta:

• LinkedIn

Connecting with Lavall Chichester

•  LinkedIn
• Twitter

Quotables:

• 16:42 - “That role then gave me experience in racing. And that's when I get this light bulb moment of, okay, now I want to get more women to do what I do.” 
• 25:27 - “It's about making sure that you do what you say you're gonna do."
• 39:28 - “There is something to be said for as long as you can pay your bills. And if you have a safe, nice place to live and you're, and you're paying your bills, not everybody has to make $600,000 a year. You could make $50,000 a year and be happy and content."
• 39:57 - “And my mother used to always say spend within your means, that's the secret to happiness.”
• 41:14 - “The answer isn't I need more money. The answer is how I spend it."

In this episode of the Urban Income Podcast, host Lavall Chichester interviews Kristy LoRusso, the Chief Marketing Officer of Kaiser Permanente. Kristy shares her inspiring personal journey toward success, her experience as a female in a leadership position, and her advice for navigating microaggressions and fear.

She emphasizes the importance of being disciplined with money, being an ally to women, taking risks, and being vulnerable. She also offers advice on breaking into the healthcare industry and suggests skills and traits that are beneficial for success. Additionally, she shares insights on how to build relationships, explore different opportunities, and leverage them to find success. Here are a few of the topics discussed on this episode of The Urban Income Show.

• Leveraging relationships and networks
• Demonstrating qualifications
• Being an ally to women
• Trying and exploring different opportunities

Resources:

• Urban Income
• Kaiser Permanente
• Growth Skills

Connecting with Kristy LoRusso:

• LinkedIn

Connecting with the Lavall:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter

Quotable:

02:49: “So when you tell me I can't do something, it makes me go, okay, I'm going to go do it. I think that really is part of my history and my family.”
04:16: “I think over time, as I've established myself and built relationships and leveraged those relationships and learned how to ask for help, what I have learned is kindness gets you a lot farther."

23:51: "People in healthcare are very open to networking and communicating and helping you, but be really intentional about how you use people's time”

27:11: "I think it's really important to think of the world as a jungle gym and not a ladder that it's okay and you should bounce around and do different things until you find your thing."