Hey guys, welcome to another episode of Eating Wild Broke. I'm your host, Colleen Witt, and today we have a very special entrepreneur in the building. We have April Showers, owner, founder and creator of Afro Unicorn.
So what are you going to have us eating today?
Well, first of all, thank you for having me. I love Eating White Broke, and we're going to get back in the day and get some. But you call it what I call it, sugar toast, cheese toast, sugar cheeseeat.
Well, this is the first time we've ever had sugar cheese toast on our show, which excites me because I am always excited about something new and different as far as it broke dish and we've taped over fifty episodes at this point, so this is good. This is good. We're building momentum. The only downside is that it's sugar cheese toasts. So but I'm hungry, so I make it work.
But you know what, it was always good. Really, It's been a while, but I've always I used to love it, so I'm hoping it wasn't just like hunger.
Yeah, well, we gonna see today.
But the good scene is that you are hungry.
Yeah, I'll probably use a whole on this show. There's only been like two episodes where I was like, there's definitely no way I'm finishing it. And that was we had a guest to a pickled egg and I was like, never again. It was absolutely terrible, and everyone behind camera knows that I couldn't complete mission, and I said early on I'm going to finish it.
I could not.
It was terrible, but the guests loved it and that was their thing and I respect it.
But I can definitely pallet this.
Okay, But before you get into like making this cheese sugar toast, which is just simple ingredients. What buttered bread, cheese and white sugar?
Right? Yep, that's it.
Tell me for all our listeners about afro Unicorn and the products of afro Unicorn and where they can get it.
Okay, So, like you said, I'm April Showers. I'm founder of afro Unicorn, which is a lifestyle brand formd women and children of color. How unique, divine and magical we truly are. I'm the first black woman to have a licensed brand character of major retail and what that means is that my products sit on the shelves next to Disney, Marvel, and Nick. Those are my direct competitors. I am the
modern day Hello Kitty. We decided to create Afro Unicorn basically to give representation where there wasn't any before because I was being referred to as a unicorn because I have multiple businesses. I own to operate an insurance agency. I'm also a licensed real estate broker. I'm a single mom of two amazing boys. And so my friend kept telling me I was a unicorn. And so finally, after two years of like, Cortel, so why do you keep calling me a unicorn? He said with April, You're managing
your businesses, you have your boys, your unicorn. So I went to go Google to see what unicorns were all about. I saw that they were unique, that they were mystical. I'm definitely black girl magic, I'm definitely unique. I started to use that emoji on our phones over and over again, and then one day it hit me, like, why is it only white? Like who determined with these attributes that it was only supposed to be white? So that moment no longer resonated with me. I went to find one.
I couldn't find one, and so I decided to just create it and be the change that I wanted to see and create a platform to help other entrepreneurs.
So just so we know, before you leave the studio, I'm gonna have you autograph every piece of item in here because I feel like I'm so inspired. I I'm literally looking at the Afro Unicorn stuffed animal so differently hearing that background, because it's not until.
You said it I realize that you're right.
When I think unicorn, I think of a white horse with maybe rainbow hair straight here, and I'm looking at Afro Unicorn, this beautiful brown horse with curly hair.
And.
I'm so happy right now. Oh my god, that's amazing. I love the entrepreneur in you, cause you're like even the fact that your friend called you that and that questioning of like why are you calling me that? I feel that inquisitive like questioning like well, okay, why are you calling me this? Oh? Well, you know, because you
create all this magic right in your life. And then you went did your research, you were using the Unicorn brand, and then you took it a step forward further and said I'm going to just go ahead and inspire others and create change. The change that we don't see every day. I think one of the guys from Airbnb, Haad said it. They said, like entrepreneurs see or paint the world that we haven't lived.
In yet or something.
Yeah, it's called the white space. So finding the white space and that you color in. Wow.
Wow. So tell us some of the products that we can get.
Wow. So we have you mentioned Walmart. We have over eighty five skews at Walmart from party celebrations. That's the first category. So I have twenty one SKUs. When you think party, you think streamers and napkins and plates, but we also have press on nails over there, and hair bows and and many plushes. Anything you could put in a grab bag we have in the party section. And then we just launched for summer. We have slipping slides and pools and water blasters what and floaties. I have
thirty items over in the water section. And here accessory you have.
Band aids, which I don't know why.
Are my very very favorite. We actually have a lot of original music too, so we have a song called unicorn Ouch that goes with the bandages. So yeah, bandages are my absolute favorite favorite currently in the market. But we are launching fruit Snacks next month, which I'm beyond because I manifested my fruit snacks. I manifested everything, but fruit Snacks was really like the thing I walked in the grocery store. I was like, I want to be in this aisle, and then we're going into that aisle
just a year ago. So we have When I say, African Crana is a modern day Hello Kitty. So if you think Hello Kitty and all the items that Hello Kitty is on, that's what we're on. We have a full fashion line at Target. Oh you're a Walmart and Target, Walmart, Target, Jac Pennies, Cohl's, We're entering into CVS. We met with Macy's last week. We'll be going to Macy's in the spring of twenty four. Yeah, We're We're going everywhere, Nice Dollar General, We'll be everywhere.
So I hope my listeners don't hate on me. But I have a daughter and I would love I'm gonna shoot my shot. Okay, I usually shoot these shots off camera, but you know, if you ever want a little ambassador with some sas you know what I'm saying, my daughter is willing to do it. Okay, We're gonna have a sidebar conversation. She's gonna see these Afro Unicorn horse Afro Unicorns, and she's gonna be so ecstatic that she's gonna be like, yeah, Mom, I'm down.
I'm totally down to be an ambassador. She's so.
The thing about Afrinicorn, that whole ambassador thing is Afrinancorn is a grassroots brand. That's what separates us from all other major brands that are out there. We highlight our customers. So when you go to our page, I post three sixty five, three times a day minimum, they're all my customers. Wow. I've been doing it for four years straight.
So do we just tag you?
And then they're all my special ones, my babies that I do like when when stuff drops, I want them to see it first so I can get their reactions first. I will get them products. But we literally grew grassroots, which is customers tagging us.
Wow.
We'll talk about all the celebrities that jumped on board organically. I've never paid anyone to rock our support. After Unicorn, it has truly been a grassroots movement and it's it's been pretty phenomenal.
Well before we get into the crazy that it took to launch this phenomenal brand.
Let's uh, let's see.
You make this teach us all am, I gonna I guess I'm gonna make it with you, right, so tell me how it's done.
We're gonna make this sugar cheese toast.
It's pretty simple. You're gonna start off with your basic butter.
Okay, we got the butter and bread. Okay, we got the bread. Do I just take a slice?
Take a slice? You get to take it.
We got the butter knives, so the the oh, it's the butter soft everybody?
Yeah, you got the og butter. She I mean this is definitely the eating Why broke butter? The country crock? So a country croc goes on smooth? Is it real butter? I don't even know?
So that's what I was about to say.
So I learned only on eating while broke. I learned this that real butter. There is a difference between this country rock and real butter. And once you try real butter, guys, I'm sorry you will never go back.
To this croc. But you know, I don't know.
And I slather, am I supposed to be slaughtered?
There? You are? You put it like you know, but this is bringing back memories. I'm about to go give me some Country cross over real.
Oh you don't even eat it?
Look no, but this is it goes on smooth. Their ads were like, it goes on smooth, all right. So we got our bread all lathered. Uh, so the next step is to take your beautiful American in the plastic cheese.
I thought you were going to say the sugar went on for that's crazy, okay, So in my head, I envisioned it more like cinnamon toast, you know, back in the day. I don't know if you ever had it where you put the cinnamon on the yep, yep. Okay, So we got the cheese on.
Put that cheese that right in the middle of the bread, got it? And that Since the sugar is close to how to make this, maybe that's why I learned how to make it, because my mom wanted me to figure some stuff out for myself.
That looks like a lot of sugar, Yeah it is.
Is that supposed to be? How it looks for real? And I want to spread it all over even lee.
Yeah, she made the sugar snow on the bread.
I'm gonna try this with as much sugar, but I am definitely afraid.
You probably were like five when you were making you know, I want.
To say that shout shout out to l A U s D. I want to say this was in a cafetina period too, But maybe I'm chripping.
We'll see I am, okay, So then okay, so what do we do?
I passed that. Yeah, we're going to pass it to me and then I'm gonna put them both in the toaster oven.
Hey, guys, that dish took like one second. If you are literally as broke as broke can be, right now, I promise you the whole loaf of bread was five bucks, and I got I think sixteen slices of cheese for five bucks thanks to inflation. So if you're really struggling out there, I would say that you can have what twenty cheese sugar sandwiches if need be, for ten bucks. So well, I guess more right, because then it would.
Be like a dollar sandwich.
I don't know. But anyways, while April's toasting, if you want, you can leave the plates over there for now.
I can get all up in the kool aid.
Okay, So what was going on when you were eating cheese sugar toast, like, what was going on around that time?
Take me back, Well, I probably was growing up like you said, I was a little girl, but I do remember feednus to my kids when after my divorce and moving out and no starting life, not starting over, but the continuation.
Well, take me take me back to the original OG date. What was your household like? Was it a single mom? Was it dual parents?
I was doing it was dual parents. People don't believe my name is really April Showers, but my daddy is Herman Showers. It is my biological name. I grew up on eighty ninth in Western in south central Los Angeles, and you guys.
Were below middle class or middle class.
I think my family worked for the state, so they were they were middle class. So we're gonna really dive into my story and how I am who I am because although I grew up on eighty ninth and Western, my mother sure I experienced outside of eighty ninth and Western.
I think that's so important.
Like a lot of people that I see come on this show, they had a mom or dad or someone take them out of that traditional neighborhood to show them just a peace of the world. There are kids actually that live in LA that have actually never seen the beach. So just to give you guys perspective of oh well, this happens in every household. No, Like, we're in twenty twenty three and kids who live in Los Angeles still have never been to the beach.
Will continue yep.
I went to high school with a girl who had never been to the beach. She lived was probably because of proximity she lived like in Altadena, but still the beach is the beach is not that far. But my mom made a point if it was just to go to a movie theater or go out to eat, we were going to Beverly Hills, or we would come to the valley, or we'll go to Rowland Hills. She just made sure I had a different experience and I was around different environments and different peoplevated me in my entire life.
On my on my entrepreneurship journey, was that a lifestyle I wanted a different lifestyle. I didn't want to just be eating cheese of sugar toast, and then a lifestyle I wanted.
You said both your parents worked for the state. I used to have a theory. I'm gonna see if you can crack my theory and say I'm wrong. But I used to have a theory that most entrepreneurs had to have experienced an entrepreneur somewhere in their journey because traditionally, you know, you grow up in a home with parents that have jobs.
You're trained more to go.
To school, be good in school, and then you get a job. Was there did you have exposure to an entrepreneur?
Pop my meth, pop it go.
Ahead, Okay, okay, good, good hopping it because I think what it was. And we kind of talked about your daughter and how she what's the word that you use because I'm not good at words.
Oh, cognitive, She's more cognitive than expressive.
Yes, So my mom would take me different areas and I would see different lifestyles, and then I would like talk to the school counselors and find out, like how much does this, you know, occupation paid. I'm like, that ain't gonna equal budget to where I'm trying to get to a life. So I was around working people, I was around politicians. I did have one aunt who was a state farm agent, and I did become a state farm agent.
I have twelve Now they're kind they're kind of the entrepreneurs. Yeah, well they're almost like franchise, we are, we are, we are, So, I will say so kind of not alway all the way popping your bubble shaking. But she's not like she's a distant like she's not blood on. So in my families, there's no real entrepreneurs.
I just I've been Did.
You see someone on TV that I've been bossy all my life? There?
No, I'm glad you said that because I've been reading. I told you, I've been doing a lot of research on failure. And there's a word. I saw this Ted talk and one of my my my friends sent it to me was on grit.
Have you heard you've heard grit?
So they're saying that people that are successful the thing isn't like academics and like how educated you are. They were saying like there was this common quality that people that took things all the way to the end had this word called grit. And literally, this lady that did the Ted talk, like some company funded hundreds of thousands of dollars to her just to research this characteristic grit. So I feel like hearing your story, the word that
would describe you would probably be grit. Based on what I've been reading recently.
So people that know me know that I have the slogan I say all the time. They're going to probably say before I say it, it's all gas no breaks. Okay, Yeah, you got grit, great breaks with like b r e A, you know, like breaking, like like taking time. I'm like no, like I'm going yes, all ye yeah yeah.
The way based on this article that I read, it would be grit. So so maybe yeah, you weren't exposed to entrepreneurs, which, by the way, they're trying to still figure out how does a kid get grit? So some I'm I'm looking at my daughter like, man, I hope, I hope you got that card of grit. But no,
like seriously, grit is like a combination of characteristics. So based on African Afro Unicorn being the first licensed Disney character, not Disney, I mean licensed character own by a black woman, you definitely have grit.
Yeah, you definitely have great who competes against Disney, who competes against Yes, exactly, Sorry for the fumble. No, You're all good. I'm just checking her toast over here.
Yeah, I've been known to burn things on this set because I she's not cooking on it.
Yeah, she's not cooking on the stovetop. Guys.
Uh and whatever. Someone is cooking in the oven, our little toaster oven. I will say that traditionally that food gets burnt because I definitely don't pay attention to it. Oh wow, it looks you don't even see the sugar on it a lot.
Okay, show it to the camera. Oh oh, it's nice and warm.
Very nice and warm. I'm really excited about this.
You know, you guys are gonna see me eat it in like three seconds.
I feel really bad.
We gonna make you some more because you're hungry.
Hungry, Okay, I'm hungry. It smells good. I kind of want to cut it just to see the cheese stretch.
You know.
I this is bringing back memories when.
I cut well, the outside is all crispy. Now, I get why you put it in the oven. It is perfect. I'm excited.
I get into it. Okay, people will see me. All right, guys, we're gonna go in for the taste test. And just so you know, all my listeners, first season, I was nice. Okay, towards the end of the first season, I was like, I'm gonna have to keep it real because there was some some dishes on our first season that I was not feeling. So I'm gonna give you a rating from one to ten to tell you how good this dish is.
Here we go, cheers. This is brilliant.
I would never think sugar. I would have never thought sugar. Honestly, I would have done without the sugar. But there's just definitely something teach your kids, if you know one teaching the grilled cheese. This is like grilled cheese with sugar.
I love it.
For a broke dish.
Based on everything, I would give this like a a seven and a half.
We're is good, and it's only because.
Because it's so broke.
I don't know if it was like if it was it was you know what it is, maybe because I would prefer like a piece of meat. But like if I were on a budget, like and I was almost homeless, and I'm starting a brand out of my garage, like this would be the dish. It would be, you know, this would be my dessert.
At the end of the way that you described it. That's a tin. If you're gonna develop a whole business out of your garage based off of this cheese sugar toes. That is a tea.
I'll tell you this, I'm gonna finish it. I'll probably asked you to do me another one. I'm definitely gonna do another one, and I'll probably make this for my daughter.
Or myself late at night.
And I love the way we toasted it. I think it made a difference because if you would have had the hard test, it would have worked. But it's like soft on the inside and then it has the nice ridging crustal Okay, I would say a ten.
You hit a ten.
So all your listeners when you DM me about this and you try to top her dish, remember that it was literally ingredients that you will find in your refrigerator and it took less than a minute. So actually, if you think about it, it should be a ten because if you look at time, cost and everything and you can get fulfilled.
This gout here, two slices and you good.
So so you as a child you made this, but then you said after your divorce you went back to this.
There's a period of time having two boys having to get out the house quickly breakfast in the morning. The worse is just hard.
I'm going through one right now.
So I'm gonna tell you the first part. Someone gave me this advice and it kept me centered through the whole divorce. You are going to lose a lot. It's gonna take you three years to rebound. It's gonna take you three years financially, schedule wise, all that stuff will
come back normal. So by me having a target in mind to note all the bs that I that was going through was only temporarily, and as soon as I got those papers signed delivered, I had countdown started that I knew it three year mark, I was gonna be whole. It kept me focused.
When you went through yours, did you include like in that hole your emotional state because you were a mom, so like as a mom, you're like a soldier.
Right, So when I say three years old, financially, mentally, physically, everything, it's gonna take you three whole years. But it's not that when you think of it.
Damn, but I haven't even he's gonna get the papers tomorrow actually.
So it's after the And that's the other thing is after it's actually final. The clock starts at that moment.
Oh heck no, no, no, no, that's too long.
It's not that long. Think about people I don't have a four year degree, but just think they take four years to get a degree.
But think I'm a college dropout.
I don't. Don't. I didn't complete either. So what what I'm saying though, is three years, three years from now, you're gonna get a text for me card notes are done with you to think about it. I'm saying, it's not that long. But if you are focused on it, you don't get stuck in that moment. You're like, this is just part of the time. Every day I'm getting better. Every day it's gonna get better. I'm almost I'm almost done with this. Lease I get to turn this bullshit in. Excuse me?
I like that.
I like, Oh, I see where you went. Okay, So from the from that point, where does your entrepreneur journey take a turn to? I mean, I'm trying to inch to afro Unicorn.
From there, we'll get there.
Because here's the thing. Had I never went.
Through finished it, it's that damn good guys.
Go on. Had I never gone through the divorce, never moved out with my with my boys, there would be no after Unicorn. Because remember my friend referred to me as an Afro unicorn because I was a single mother of two boys while running my businesses. I would never have been a single mother of the two boys.
I'm just curious how old were your boys at the time.
I left when my baby was under two, Okay, and then there're four and a half years apart.
Okay, you're gonna have to be my mentor through all this. Okay, cool, okay, cool, okay, Okay.
It gets better. Cool. I'm a living testament.
Okay, it gets better. So I used to Yeah, I can tell you're competing against Disney and all.
The other characters and you're you're a unicorn.
Yep. By the way, our luggage set sold out at Walmart. We did beat Mickey on our luggage.
So really, hey, wait a minute, you have a luggage set.
Yeah, I got I have to get her. I got her.
My daughter has been to thirteen cities or no, she's been on the plane thirteen times and she's flown to nine different cities and she's only a year and a half, so that luggage is a mustag for us.
I got her. Okay.
So okay, so you come on, bring me, bring me through. It's kind of the next step because I know you're a multi I don't know if that's the word multi entrepreneur.
Yeah, because I'm I have an insurance agency. I'm not an active real estate broker anymore. But at the time when I start acting your corn, I was so, yeah, I'm very the multiple entrepreneur, serial entrepreneur.
So how long did it take for you to get afro Unicorn or what was that the first initial steps to kind of get this brand built.
So in May twenty nineteen is when we launched the e commerce store. I just celebrated four years. But really it was a shirt. That's why I ask you do you have shirts? Because I started with just a T shirt with the unicorn symbol. I didn't even have enough to put Afri Unicorn unique Divine in Magic o, which is our slogan. I couldn't afford to add that. It was just the logo, the picture of the afric.
Unicorn, and then how did you market it?
So step back a little bit to April twenty eighth was African Korn's birthday, and so I have two days. I have the birthday of Africancorn and I have the anniversary of African Coorn. The birthday is when I shared the vision to other people and truly pushed it out. And birthday, so I invited twenty five women to my home. At the time, I lived in the high rise condos. We had like a a room where it was reckrooms.
So I invited them to the reckroom and I basically just got all their sizes and I said, look, I'm going to tell you guys about this brand that I'm building. Some of you guys are already entrepreneurs. I went to buy twenty five of your products to give to the other women that are going to be in attendance. And they had no idea what they were coming to, but I knew and I heard the saying that if someone doesn't give you a seat at the table, you bring
a folding cheer. So I have this long table with folding chairs wrapped around it, and the women that I had selected, I wrote bios on all of them. I didn't ask them any questions. I study people, so I wrote bios and I talked about what made them unique, divine and magical, and I had their photos. I put them in the book. I made sure they got all their unicorn shirts before they arrived, and when they got there, I said look, I'm creating a space to where we
could support each other. So I purchased from all of you all so that you guys can have each other's products. But we're going to grow this thing. I wanted to have a real space for to develop, to develop other businesses with fellow women, and NIP had just passed away, and so I was really focused on this whole marathon and just keeping it going. And yeah, that's how I set it up. So the marketing was they were like, at the end of the event, They're like, what's your Instagram?
I said, huh. I did not have Instagram at my very first event, so I had to have somebody create it for me.
So these were women that you did not I did know.
Though I did know them, I wasn't like a I'm like Erica Badu said, I'm an analog girl in a digital world. I mean, I'm definitely digital now, but I was very analog. So got the Instagram account, got that set up, and I had a photographer that shot all the women there. So what I would do when we
launched the Instagram would post them. I would say, hey, check out Colleen and her after your quarantine, but be sure you subscribe to eating while Broke and make sure you shop her other brands, and this is what makes her unique, divine and magical. And people just started to catch on. So I started with those twenty five posts, with those twenty five women talking about their brands, and then people were like, oh, if I go get a shirt and then she's gonna post me and talk about
my business. Wow okay, And that's just how it grew. And then my son, Oh gosh, my son ended up going to the hospital on May tenth. I had already had the launch day set of May seventeenth. We were in the hospital. I didn't know at that time for twenty days, and I had nothing but time on my hand. Time Christopher was only eight years old. We were in the hospital. They couldn't figure out what was wrong with him. His life paced number, which is typically like I think,
under one hundred, he was at seventeen thousand. So we were almost at an icy you type situation. But thank god that never happened. But so how all this time on my hand to figure out Instagram. So I sat there and I learned how to do hashtag following. So I said, okay, who's who is my audience, and I thought women, entrepreneurs, people who already identify themselves as black Unicorn.
So I went to go find who was already using those hashtags, and I would go into their comments and I would say, hey, have you ever seen an Afro Unicorn before? I created a brand of women of color who hustle follow the movement. So then they would come over. They'll see all these women wearing my shirt and I'd be like, oh, I've been a Unicorn. This is fire. Let me get one of her shirts. And that's how I grew it organically, never paid for followers and nothing
like that. It was all organically, and I didn't know it at the time that Tiffany Hatish was calling herself the last black Unicorn. Ironically, I looked it up. I think the book came out twenty nineteen when I launched After Unicorn, So twenty eighteen is when I started to like really look into the whole, the whole black Unicorn world. So someone was like, you know, go over to Tiffany's page.
So I went over there. She was a workout photo and I commented, hey, have you ever seen after Unicorn before? I created a Brandon women of color who hustled all the movement. She was like, oh shit, if you send me this shirt right now, I'm gonna rock the hell out of it. And she put her address right there in the comment. It was ten thousand responses to They're like, Timmy, I'm gonna sending you candos. She ain't never gonna side by unicorn shirt. She ain't never gonna sign it. Tiffany
had my Unicorn shirt on. Someone sent me a picture within two weeks. Wow, she was out in the shirt. So I was like, wow, that was cool. And then after that Alicia Keys, somebody saw her where it was out in the water with the white unicorn floating. They're like, you need to be rocking after Unicorn, And then I hit her up and then she started following us and rocking with us. And yes, it's been a snowball effect and Sherry Shepherd just I came in and took over
the rand. It's been. It's been a pretty amazing ride.
In those moments when that happens, what are you thinking? Are you like, oh my god, we made it, or like what's going on.
In your head?
So when I launched Afro Unicorn, I told everyone from day one I'm launching Africancorn to be a household name. But I thought that I was gonna have to sell the brand, so I built it to sell it, right, So I thought I was taking all the necessary steps to get whatever I needed to get to increase myself so that eventually I can sell it, because I didn't think.
So, where is your business acumen coming from?
Because it sounds like you're Steve Jobs with Wozniak had a baby girl Like, well, I love that, But it sounded like that because usually in business, you have it's very hard to find someone that is That's why they have ceo CFOs and coos. It's like very hard to find someone that's great at marketing. It's also great at business. Most people aren't thinking, Okay, when I build this brand, it's gonna be you know, I got to build it to sell or build it like build it to scale.
Usually I'm like, look, if you could if you could sell one client just times that by ten a, you know, maybe you.
Could start a corporation.
You know, But I want to know, like, where did that business acumen come from?
Probably I'm gonna attribute a lot to State farm. Okay, in the sense of the opportunity that they gave me to open up my own agency, and saw how they market on a corporate level, Like so they own all the basketball courts, they stay farmed, you go to the you know, baseball games, they have it all banterered out. So I saw how they market on a corporate level, and then I knew that I had to direct people to my local stores. So I had to put a
lot of effort into local marketing. So when I launched back then, my two little babies just starting through a whole. I started my divorce when I launched my state farm agency, and so I learned how to do radio, how to do events, how to do like just how they draw people into my location. Because I don't have a four year college degree, I went for like a semester and I launched my first business when I was nineteen. So
I ended up going to some computer school. I remember I prayed, God, please let them close the school down. I pulled into the gates and the school was closed. I was like, you entered my prayers. Because I had a little agency that I wanted to launch when I was nineteen years old, and the school thing was getting in the way of that. So I don't know, I've just always had that marketing thing about me because it
starts with yourself. And I'm also a former so I went to school for the arts for dance, and I don't know, I've always i haven't had an issue of putting myself out there. But to be compared to like a Steve Jobs, Steve Jobs, I mean, I mean he.
Was a marketing genius.
You sound like, straight out the gate like a marketing genius. Because when you think about Steve Jobs and Wozniak, they had that little black box like they were selling this illegal box.
I don't know if you remember, if you read.
The Steve Jobs book, but yeah, they were selling some illegal well. Wosniak had created this thing and Steve Jobs was slinging it, you know, and that's kind of how they're, you know, their their whole partnership work.
But I think what really made me really push though, to go into building something for myself to sell, was that the opportunity, although it's a great opportunity that I have, was stay farm. I don't own it. You don't, really, I can't. If I die tomorrow, my kids don't get it, okay, And in my brain that just don't didn't make logical sense. You work so hard to build something that you can't pass down to anyone else. I said, what can I do that's out there that I can own? And I
did like a Google search and I found this. I think it's called the Best Lemonade stands the name of the blog post or whatever. They talked about e commerce and a T shirt brand that you can start in twenty four hours. Wow, I said, bet And the words in there was said, you never want to dictate, never dictate anyone to control your livelihood, like you never want to have someone else dictate that. So you guys have
something you can own. But the cool thing about for Unicorn, although I built it to sell it, I didn't have to sell it, which was great. So now I'm still sitting in the CEO cheer, still becoming a household name. And that's because of the world of licensing, which again I'm the first black woman to ever do it like this.
Oh, I see what you're saying, so licensing, can you explain.
That to yes? So the way that I explained it is the infamous Sway interview with Kanye.
Take me back, take all of our listeners back. We all want to know, right, take me back back.
So about nine years ago they were sitting with the microphones just like this, and Kanye was saying, like, you know, they're not giving me the information I can't get like the Calvin Kleines and the Ralph Laurence, Like I'm not able to get to that level. And Sway was like, but Kanye, you rich, you got the money, just go get the warehouse, gonna make your own shirts, make your own clothes. You ain't got the answer, Sway, that ain't it. I lost. I think it was twenty seven million trying
to do it that way. That's not it. So what he was talking about during that time was the information about how are these big brands getting their products distribute wed So, then Kanye does a licensing deal with Adidas and now he a billionaire.
Oh my god.
So you just popped my brain bubble because I'm so excited right now. Yeah, we're gonna go over time. I know Jared already knows that. Back there, shout out to Jared. So wait a minute, hold up. So I was sitting here thinking like is she over here, like in a like in her room, just like Okay, I'm gonna design a doll.
I'm gonna design the bad like.
I was trying to figure out, Like a part of me was like, you have so such a huge, robust product line, and that's I'm so excited. I have to stress how excited I am to have you here. But yes, I think you have just solved the answer, and you did it. You have you were so dope as a business person, it would I would have been like Kanye. I would have been in the whole twenty six That's why my brand is famous failures, because I would have been like Kanye. I would have been like twenty seven million.
I just want the answer.
I literally told someone the other day Kanye, so chuck fuck.
Adidas, like he can go out there and do his own brand and do it direct and no, you you know what they call that thinking, working smart versus.
So that's why when all that stufflew up with Adidas, he was up on PCCh knocking their sketcher's door like, look, yeah, I know the easier way to get this stuff done. Now he knows.
Okay, well I'm so excited about you. Okay, okay, okay, okay.
So when I say I'm the first black woman to have a licensed brand character in major retail. I get it, y'all. People don't really get it when I reach out to them. But y'all won't put some respect on my name.
Put some respect on that name.
So man, I know this is a hell of detour, but I gotta do it. Like success is the best revenge, right can I say that?
So?
Like, what's the tea looking like on that?
We the ex husband? So the ex husband, that's so cool, And I'm not going to diss him, like we don't even have a relationship like that and we don't really talk. I mean, you know where I live now, so it is what it is. But like that that ain't that. But I'm gonna take it back. But my but my oldest son and I don't mind talking about this one.
But my oldest son has a different father, and that one was always telling me that I was jumping over dollars to get to pennies and always saying that I wasn't this hustler that I am, like making me seem like he wanted me to drop after you in the corner at one point, which was crazy. So I haven't talked to him in about two to three years. But I don't know if any of this packaging with my face, but a lot of packaging and stores got my picture on the back. You go into Target, you'll see me
in the tyler section my face. So we may not talk, but he can't miss me.
Are you in that? Are you in that store?
In what's that store called? I had them on my show. They're in the Clover City Mall. They have all Yep, there's a store in the Culver City Mall that has only like black products.
Now I need to find out about them, but I know the owners. Okay, so I'll connect you.
We'll see because I'm what I'm trying to get at is I just got into the bonnet thing. Well when I had braids. I'm not rocking braids this season. But are we gonna see bonnets?
We have a target, Jason, you beat me to it.
Okay?
You everything? Okay, I literally have everything. If you think of it and I don't have it, it's either in the works or I didn't think about it. But trust me, how might have it by tomorrow. At least I might have a conversation with somebody about it tomorrow.
So I have to ask now for us. Inspired by you.
Okay, so you create this, licensed this character and you're selling it on e commerce, But did you know at the time that you were going to end up licensing it or okay, so how did that come out?
I was like, Kanye, they ain't telling me. I don't know your e commerce doing at the time. E commerce was doing well, were you like if all other hustles, I'm just doing this. I was really focused on that the last part. Yeah, I was really focused. I've been really focused on after you and okay, okay, cool, especially when covid hit because I launched twenty nineteen and then COVID happened twenty twenty. Yeah, and people was like we the governor said we ain't gotta pay no no car insurance.
So they oh, yeah, we went into a pandemic. Oh my gosh. So then what were you doing then.
Afro you know corn because y'all had all that discretionary income that they so.
But you were pushing it online.
Though everybody everybody, no one could go out and do nothing, So everyone was online buying stuff like crazy. Yeah. So they weren't paying none of their bills because the government was giving y'all outs to paying your bills. So my insurance agency hurt. But I have my e commerce business. That's why they say, never ever rely on one source to dictate your life.
I swear by that, by the way everybody I have I swear by that so much of going into the pandemic. I owned one business, a corporate events company. I mean that thing went down. Put it like this, when y'all was watching the NBA take a knee and cancel that game. I was at a table at an event, like glued to my phone, crying like, oh my god, my company's gonna tak in three seconds because all my clients were like this thing called COVID or whatever, and I was
like the corona, the beer virus. Like I was like trying to talk my clients how to freak it out. But the second NBA canceled their games. Like when I say, within twenty four hours, all my events for that year got canceled. I went from and you're talking about a company that had a robust clientele.
I wasn't collecting deposit I was.
It was just like kind of like shake hands at this point, no more contracts, and I lost so much income and a matter of seconds and I was truly, Like I didn't even know that was possible, Like you talk about like wait, this happened in history before, Like what are we talking about? And from that point on to this date, I still don't have one stream of income and I will never go back to one stream of income because of that situation.
So I'm glad you touched on that.
Yep.
But even with afro Unicorn, you still have multiple.
Well after your corns has so much, it's so many different arms.
So like I imagine it to be, and I don't want to skip around because because I am a little bit, but I imagine, like are you getting like is it like Walmart sends you a check? Target sends you a check or some how does that?
I have over forty five plus licensees, so yeah, I get checks from all my my.
So you go to the mailbox and it's payday all the time.
I flew home yesterday, I had a check from my publisher. So because we have books.
Too, So.
Let me tell you, Okay, school us on the licenses, school less take us take us their sway April Sway, April April Showers. I didn't have the answer, Okay, Sway didn't have the answer. You need to listen to April Shower.
But what's so cool about? People are like, you know, where's your warehouse? I'm like, I don't have a wearhouse.
I was thinking all those thoughts.
I'm gonna be honest, I was thinking all those thoughts as I was like, Oh, look at all these products manage her life. Her house is probably like Afro Unicorn stuff everywhere.
It is afrot in concute stuff everywhere. It's very creatively. But no, I'm I'm just my laptop in my desk. I love this is how I run this entire brand.
So how did you get from e commerce to license?
Okay? So again, it's a grassroots, organic brand that we highlight our customers. So there was a Brooklyn native girl. Her name was Cassidy Brianna, four years old. I had her since she was like too. She was in a onesie when she did her first Afrinuncorn picture and submitted it into us. But I love this girl so much. I just was like, that's my insta god baby. So her mom always would go extra hard posting pictures of her with Afro Unicorn. And one day they were doing
a video shoot. Somebody walked by and said, I love your hair with all the confidence in the world. Cassie said, thank you, It's an afro. And that video went viral about six months later, and that right there is just a message to some people like let timing happen when it's supposed to happen. So six months later, that video goes viral and from Viola Davis, Tina Knowles, and then the Big Oh shared it Oprah. Yes, oh, okay, when Oprah it was Oprah Daily, but I still say the
Big because it's still Oprah. Shout out to Gil King because she runs Oprah Daily. So when Oprah Daily shared it, a buyer reached out to me from Walmart and said, email me African corn ex Walmart collaboration. Have you ever considered party supplies? There's a lot, and I don't know how much time you have, but there's so much.
Sorry, Jared, but there's so much.
More to that. Because I'm a huge manifestor I'm a huge thing, a huge person believing in divine timing. So I kind of touched on my son's father, right. Things I gotten really bad that particular year to where I had to follow restraint in order and the courts kept messing up on my paperwork. First of all, I a'med to fix restraining orders for women. It's a fifty six to sixty page document, so you always say, well, why,
you know, why didn't she follow restraining order? They make it almost freaking impossible for you to get through the process. And it was just more like of a stocking thing that he was doing. So I my family was very fearful and they were like, You've got to go through with it. You got to go through it. I kept getting blocks after after the clerk forgot to sign it, and the judge forgot to sign it, and they couldn't start.
It was a lot, and I just heard God just speak over me and said let it go, just let it go. And when I decided, I said, you know what, I'm gonna let it go. I believe that He's going to protect me. That next day is when Walmart reached out to me.
Wow, and was it a DM or email? How did they It was an email?
My son thirty minutes prior walked into the kitchen because I was a little frustrated because I had failed at Amazon with launching after you in a corn. I had all this plush that was shipped from China going the backwards.
Kanye, Oh you were doing oh Kanye way, so you did Kanye okay, okay.
So I had like, like you said, I've done it that way.
I lost.
I lost thirty thousand. It wasn't nowhere. But so Amazon didn't really work for me. I had this inventory that was coming out in what to do, and my son came in the kitchen and he said, well, why don't you try Walmart in that moment, which I've never done, but because I was so insecure and not knowing the next steps on how I was like, Walmart, I'm not going to Walmart. And then thirty minutes later, I'm on the couch. He's my young cooh. He runs African Corn
with me, so we share the same email account. So he opens the door. He looks at me because the title said Walmart X. He said, Afri your corn ex Walmart collaboration, and I'm like, you spoke it up and just like that. That's how I got into licensing, because they said, you know, party supplies, and they introduced me to my first two licensees to handle the party accessories, and then from there I really had no clue on
what to do, Like, I had no clue. They wanted to schedule a meeting with me, and they're like, we could meet your team, and I'm like team.
You're like, which one of my girlfriends want to wear a suit today?
Like that? Who wants to pretend? Like, oh, we got a team. So I had already had my I had a social media manager, but I was still doing a lot of social media myself. My name is Kalia Wright, shout out to KSW social media. But it was so cool about her. I brought her onto the team because I just had to sense I was on a cuff of blowing up. I knew I was getting ready to blow up, so I said, I'm about to put myself
in position. So I tried to reach out to one of these big influencer people on Instagram that said they could do all this for you. Girl would never get back to me. I'm like, look, I got five thousand to give you, Like, I just need help with my social media. So this one particular lady Kalia had been rocking with African Corn since we launched. Like her daughter's birthday was in May and she had an African Corn
shirt for her daughter. In May twenty nineteen and I saw that she was trying to do social media on through African Backup African Corn. Since twenty nineteen, I've always support your small businesses. Every Saturday morning, I'm up at six am and I reshare your businesses on my story for free. We've been doing that still till this day. I will be tomorrow Saturday, not yet, huh, okay, couple more days, but I'll be up at six am sharing your businesses and we do it from six to nine am.
And I've been doing that from day one. So she was one of the businesses that was trying to get off the ground. Well, I didn't know social media. I hit her up. I asked her she could do my social media for me. I said, on a scale from one to ten, how gear you x y Z? She said ten. I knew she wasn't the ten, but if she did not tell me she was in the ten, I wasn't gonna work with her. Wow, So you got to put yourself out there. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I said,
my girl should out. Kalia didn't even own a computer. W got hired.
Shout outs to her. I like her, I love her, I love her already.
Can you come to the Walmart being with me. She was like, bet I'm there. We put my after your cousture.
That's hilarious. Okay, okay.
So we had our first meeting and then from there I just started doing courage over comfort. There was remember I said, I'm an analog girl in the didget the world. I had to scratch that because Walmart was like, okay, can you get a deck together? I'm like a deck? What is a deck? And so I was scared of canvas. So I was like, I gotta learn this. I needed to redo my website, and I'm like trying to get people to hire, like hire them. No one was responding
quick enough and they wanted it. By the next morning, I redid my entire website on my own. I just learned it.
You're gangster because I outsourced all that I couldn't.
No one was responding.
So I think if we would have known each other, I would have hooked you up because I got girls that do all my stuff.
I tried, but in that moment, and I'm part of a huge network of Tea Schert entrepreneurs, and no one at that moment was I'm not to cry, but no, because now I see how God was setting me up. Nobody at that moment, Nobody at that moment was able to help me. He wanted me to see that you have everything in you to do it, to do it, wow, everything that you need. I truly believe that we control our own dreams. I recently, I'm going so fast forward.
But I just got back from Orlando. A couple of weeks ago, I surprised a little girl for her birthday. Her mama hit me up in January, was like, hey, can you come to her birthday and bring unique. I'm like, I don't do that. I'm not flying to Orlando for a little girl's birthday party whatever, And I just ignored it. But this little girl's always been posting my stuff. I've always posted hers all good. Then something pushed on me and I'm like I hit her one day. I was like, no,
what's the day of the party? She told me today. I'm like, I got two trips between that. I'm definitely not I can't go to Orlando. It's it was somewhere I was going, maybe I could do it. A couple of weeks go by, I'm like, what's the time of the party, And so I get the time. I'm like, well, it's a ninety percent chance I'll come, but I'm not bringing Unique. It's a big costume that we use. I'm like, I don't even have a suitcase for two days before I leave and find myself at TJ Max getting the
suitcase to put Unique in. Long story short, I spent fife hundred dollars to fly to Orlando. Now, I met this little girl's birthday party. She's excited. Her mom posts on Monday and she was like, you know April came to her party. It was she brought Unique and she said, our money is a manifestor her money have been telling people that April and Unique was coming to her party. Wow. So I corrected my team. I said, I didn't make that little girl's dreams come true. Our MONI made her
dreams come true. She literally summons me into that space. So all the retailers that I deal with, I have summoned them into this space because they've all told me, we've never worked with brands that don't have content out I don't. We're coming with the show, but I don't have a show yet. All my competitors have shows out there. I don't. I don't have. I don't have the Little Mermaid going for me in the background right now. So but every category they all say like, we've never done
this before. This is unheard of. What you're doing, it's one in a billion. And it's because I am laser being focused on what I want and I write it down to I journal. I put exactly what I want to happen.
Wow.
I remember them telling me that publishing takes a long time. When I finally got my publishing agent, by the way, I had no idea what a literary agent was. I never heard the word before. But once you tell me something and I latch onto it, that's it. It's like I got it. It's all gas, no breaks. I'm going through the wall with it. So when they told me what I needed to get, I got it. And my agent was like, well a bro, it's gonna be slow. It's gonna take a couple of years before you land
a deal. I got four publishing deals.
Oh my gosh.
Manifesting, everybody taking notes. You know, I am a huge believer in manifestation. I definitely believe in it. I tell my little brother shout outs to Ego. You know, win in doubt. Manifest manifest like a crazy person. I literally I remember my first range Drover. I would walk up to my car at the time.
And be like, you're a range Rover.
You're a range Rover, like all the time, and I just kept doing it, be like you're a range Rover, You're a range Rover. And I would like literally close my eyes and be like you're and I would envision my rain drover and then I bought it like a month later, and I.
Was like, yep, you know it works, it works like that.
Yeah, that was like my first real like I mean, I had I had other companies that I did do the manifestation, but I would I remember just particularly like closing my eyes every time I walked over to my car and was like, you're a range Rover. And if you heard my thoughts, you would be like, this girl's crazy. That is not a rain Drover, that is a Lincoln.
But just think about if you do that in every aspect of your life.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, you know what.
I feel like the older we get, the more life sometimes I call it chin checking, or I've heard it before, Like you know, sometimes life will chin check you enough that sometimes.
You do lose get in your own way. It's what it's.
Called getting my own way.
Okay, Yeah, I think that's why I embrace I talk about failure so much because I'm like, I know, for me, I've said on my Instagram, like I think I quit more than anybody internally. I mean, on the outside you'd be like, damn, she did another win, you know, But on the inside, I'm like, you know, it's a battle. It's always a battle within me. And I think the CEO of a Revolt had said, it's like that imposter syndrome that I had, like the constant like who am I to be able to do this?
And I battle that heavily.
So I'm working on helping people with the imposter syndrome. I know, I kind of dealt with that in the very beginning. I'm with. My friend called me a unicorn for two years and not finally was like why you keep calling me that? Like it took me a long time to understand what he saw in me. But yeah, my my whole life is I've never been qualified for
any position that I've ever held, ever been qualified. So it's a lot of times it's not even it's not even the who you know, the what you know, it's that mindset between your ears, it's your head.
So speaking of that, I want to know, like, what hurdles did you encounter building Afro Unicorn that really may doubt look like it's you know, like where doubt was just clouding you in Because I feel like as entrepreneurs, we've all had those days where we're like, who, Like, this is definitely not going to be a win.
I have moments. A moment, I do not give it a whole day. Okay, moments. I have moments.
Can you tell me a moment?
Oh?
Yeah, I have. I have a lot of moments. I compete against Disney, Marvel, and Nick. They don't give me an extra I'm not great on a curve. So if you go to Walmart and I'm sitting next to Elsa on the on the what's it called on the shelves, you know Elsa? You know she had a huge movie Frozen, Like, I'm competing so I get numbers. I know where you're after Unicorn falls and everything, and.
Are they all looking at it like her numbers better be at a certain level.
Heck yeah, I'm really I'm still grated.
Also, that's not even fair.
Exactly, So I have those moments when I get a category report that says I'm at the bottom of this category. But then, you know, then I'll have my moment where I sit there and cry and pound, and then they'll say and I'm like, okay, so what am I gonna do about it? Like, how are we gonna flip it? How are we gonna change it? Meeting with you on that or no, it's all the marketing is on me.
That's crazy.
So shout out to Netflix, we need an Afro You to corn Show because that's absolutely Now I'm gonna look at life.
Differently because my daughter is always talking about.
Like Coco Coco melon melon, and uh now, I just be like, if it got Coco melon on the dang breakfast bar, I'm like, and you said you got the snacks coming.
I can't wait because.
That's crazy that you're up against. Now, I see why you're like, I'm up against else or Disney and whoever.
That's a lot of pressure.
It's a lot of But you know, Afro.
Unicorn has been around for a while, and I hope, well we've.
Been around four years compared to Disney celebraty of the one hundredth first but they.
Also have millions of dollars.
Oh my god, and I'm grated on the same level.
So damn everybody, everyone listening to you see Frozen, You you better not buy nothing.
You better make sure you buy afro Unicorn.
Like I don't even don't even think about it, okay, because at the end of the day, you know, when it comes to kids, And that's this is why I say it's messed up, because they're all consistency based, right, Like they watch it on Netflix, they watch it on TV.
I don't really know how to work on my TV. I don't know how to work Netflix on my TV.
But like, you know, the oversaturation of the same thing, right, And it's like, how are you That is crazy that they would grade you at the same level. Oh the I'm going to Walmart, I promise you. When I go to Walmart Target, I am going to make sure that I make a detour to the Afro Unicorn section. I'm gonna make sure too. I may just be one of those people that move those items.
All my people they know you go. I just posted a video of a little girl moving the Afro Unicorn rumpers up to the front at Target.
Yeah, I think I'm gonna be one of those people.
You don't see me, and I'm gonna be one of those people because if that's that's no, we gotta fight for ours.
Man, that's crazy, because if afro Unicorn doesn't do well, they won't bring in another one.
You hear that, everybody Afro Unicorn. That's razy.
So in your free time you're a Walmart, go buy that section and make sure that they're at the front, because that's not even a it's you know.
But you know what, look at all the barriers you broke.
That's amazing. And I love to hear that you support entrepreneurs. I'm a Everybody around here will tell you. I love entrepreneurship more than I think I love. I don't think I love anything really that much more. I mean other than Zarayah, my daughter.
But I love.
Entrepreneurship like that is my thing. I love growth, I love failure, I like all of it. I like tears and brokenness and triumph and resilience and grit like that's like my thing. So your story's beautiful. Thank you, and I've heard about you for.
Years and I'm excited. I'm excited that we made.
It work too. I appreciate it. Yeah, at this point, it's just telling people to support the brand.
So where do you see yourself from here?
Oh, Freedom's going to be the largest, biggest brand in the world. So we're working on live location based sorry entertainment, which is like amusement parks and family activity centers. Of course,
we're the episodic TV series. Hopefully we'll be landing that soon and then that animated film, and I just want everyone to be able to experience it, like we should be able to go to our own amusement parks and have that experience where we're treated like you know, the kings and queens that we are from the time we enter to the time that we leave. So that's where I see myself being a mungo. I'm shout out to myself by saying that I don't see myself being retired
in two years. That's what I used to say. I'm I'm gonna say in it a little bit. And then also just bringing other brands along the licensing journey like that is the true goal, to learn as much as I possibly can. I have a partner, a Skia Fountain, and we started the afric Unicorn Agency on the entertainment side, which is going to help bring other brands through the licensing journey. Wow, so we already have one, which is Cassidy Brianna. Her brand is called thank You. It's an Afro.
It was number one on the Amazon's release last week. She just dropped last week. She's six years old. See all of her own brand.
It is Booker.
We launched a book, but we want to launch hair products, I think. I asked Cassidy over the week. I was in New York last week and asked her what does she want to come out with next. She said that she wanted activity books. So I'm like, okay, bet, let's figure.
Out on God, you're definitely a unicorn. I'm so, I'm so excited.
So so what is the name of the company again, just for all our listeners and myself that you said that you help people with unicorn entertainment Afro Unicorn entertainment.
Now it's an.
Arm The agency is an army.
I'm imagining you get spammed a lot, right, with a lot of us. So how do you ciple through the ones that you're gonna pick?
So I don't I stopped coaching a while ago, and I've every now and again, somebody would come through. I'm like, okay, we'll have a zoom conversation. I'm able to tell if you're really passionate about what you really want to do. I have very good discernment over people. It's really just me hand choosing, like they're really going to follow through. I set a lady up who really wanted my coaching. I'm like, I never do this, but she got a real big spot for me with a big anchor. So
I'm like, i'll coach you. Set it up through my calendar every two weeks. She didn't come back to the second so I'm like, you know what.
Yeah, no, no, I know what you talk about. I have a cousin like that who's like, been in the coffee business. I've been like, Yo, they're giving out grants at this nonprofit where you don't have to pay for your coffee car, you don't have to pay for your food cart, you don't have to pay for your permits or nothing.
Right.
I beg him. I pray to god he doesn't listen to this episode, but like, I beg him so much that I told myself yesterday that's it. Coe, Like, you can't you can't force it on nobody because you already know as an entrepreneur, your passion has to be so insane. I call it insane. I told you I'm working on a book called Famous Failures. In the book, I discussed like you literally have to be almost like deemed crazy.
That's how insane your passion needs to be. Like, yo, all the odds are stacked against me, but I'm still gonna go through that door, like, and you're gonna get hit in the face and hitting the chest and hitting the nuts and hitting the back and hitting the stabbed and you know whatever, You're gonna be on ICU support whatever. But if you're passion does not supersede all of that, you're not.
Gonna make it.
If you don't have consistency, I will not work with you. If I go to your page and I saw that you posted last week.
Really on Instagram, Oh no, I let me tell you. I hate social media so much. But my team and I we actually I went shout outs to eighty five South. I went out to Atlanta, and you know, me and a lot of the eighty five South crew came from Steve Harvey, Okay, and so they were like beasts.
They're all in their thirties. Some of these guys are killing it.
And so we were just like kind of having a heart to heart and I was like, yeah, my Problemary is social. And you know, even just in the conversation, I'm like, wait, Coch, did you just say you have a Problemary and you haven't solved it? Like so me and my team we went to dinner and we're like, we're gonna kill that shit. Like this year we're not playing and the weight is heavier, but you know, I'm going another year without salary, which is totally fine, and then we're gonna just.
Take all that and pour it right back into social.
So this season is gonna be an exciting season. I'm glad Afro you know corns on this season now because it's like, yeah, gonna push.
It because a lot of people just don't want to do the hard work and they don't want to remain consistent. You are not going to win if you are not consistent, Like there is no way around it. The tortoise beats the hair because it is consistent. It's focused on every single step towards the finish line. You take detours, you take a break here, you chill out, talk to the homies one day. I don't care how fast you are.
That tortoise that keeps its brain and head and mind in the game and focus on one step after the next every single day, every single minute, is going to always beat you.
Yeah, yeah, I agree. You need to say that to that camera.
Ye say that again. The tortoise always beats the hair.
Why Why does the tortoise always beat the hair?
Because the tortoise remains consistent right foot, left foot, constantly moving, focus on that finish line, like you have to focus and penetrate that finish line. No breaks.
That's why the hair loss.
That's why the hair loss. The hair it takes breaks.
And I tell I said this the other day at a conversation, like, guys, the most successful people delay instant gratification.
And I think people overlook that step.
I know. I tell people all the time, choose your ten. You could choose your twenties, you could choose your thirties, you could choose your forties or your fifties, or you could just be that guy that works at Walmart at a certain age. But the truth of the matter is you got to do your solid ten. That's no year's no point in that ten years that you're choosing instant gratification. People look at me all the time and be like, oh,
her money's good and her business are good. It's like yo, I delay instant gratification all the time, Like instant gratification is Like the most I get out of instant gratification is late at night, I eat a chocolate and chocolate dove bar. Like you know what I'm saying, Like that's it. I delay instagratification. And that's why the tortoise lost to the hair. No well, no, I mean the hair lost because hey, way did instagratification and the tortoise took one
step at a time, but consistently consistently. This, hands down was one of my favorite interviews of the season. And I am ecstatic to support your brand for life and everything you're about. I feel like we are like kindred spirits, and I will text and annoy you a little bit because I love the inspiration you brought to me today like you left in my day, my spirits. And I think everyone in the cast is gonna come out and say the same. In the production is going to come
out and say the same. But it's truly a pleasure to have you. And you know, I'll definitely send up your name to like whoever I can at the Black Facts. So also support your brand because what you did broke so many barriers and it's an honor to meet you. And I want all these items autographed, all right, and uh and and shout.
Outs and where can people catch you?
Please follow us on social at African Corn Underscore a Fish Show. We keep you up to date all the times. We're very consistent on where you can find all of our products. But if you want to go directly to the websites afreunicorn dot com. But African Corn Underscore a Fish Show is my preferred on social.
Awesome peace out guys.
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