October was filled with lots of events and travel, including the NMSDC annual conference and a Whitehouse initiative for Black Americans. I also got a lot of features and exceeded my reading goal for the month, here are the details!
Started off the month with a half-marathon
If you’ve been following me for a while then you know I run half marathons and that I set a goal to run a race in all 50 states. This month I traveled to Wisconsin for the Milwaukee Lakefront Half Marathon, which was race no. 22. We ran along Lake Michigan, through downtown Milwaukee and got a mini tour of the city. I enjoyed the run and was pleasantly surprised to be greeted with a sign with my name on it at the end. It’s always Black Women!
Got featured across all mediums
My features this month were interesting, it was a combination of print, digital and audio:
Inside Retail launched their US edition and they interviewed me as a part of their business toolkit. They even sent out an email with my name as the subject line, which surprised me!
I got featured in a book! Great Entrepreneurs by Kemone Brown, which is a collection of stories and lessons by Black women entrepreneurs. When Kemone reached out and asked if I would want to be part of an upcoming book that she was working on, of course I said “YES!” because what an honor! You can grab this book wherever it is that you grab books from or go to their website and get it for the reader that’s on your electronic device. Or better yet, head to Tamarind Hill Press and buy directly because if you do nothing else with your day, make sure you, Buy From A Black Woman.
Kendra Bracken-Ferguson invited me to join her on her podcast Business of the Beat because during the first conversation we had, we talked like we were the only ones in the room. This was our second conversation, although we had a full conversation before her team could hit record. They actually told us to stop talking so they didn’t miss anything.
The Story Exchange interviewed me as a part of their 1,000+ Stories series and I got to talk about who inspires me, how I get through tough days and just get a little more personal with it.
Did some local and national business events
I moderated a panel on “Leveraging Entrepreneurship and Innovation to Drive Generational Wealth Creation” for the Power Up Series, which was an event hosted by The White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence and Economic Opportunity for Black Americans. I got to join speakers like Erika Alexander and Stacey Abrams, at what was a full day of programming for Black entrepreneurs.
I attended the NMSDC’s Annual Conference and Exchange in Baltimore. Their focus was on closing the equity gap this year and they brought supply chain specialists from all over the country together to address this issue. Being in the room and networking for the Black Women Business Owners who couldn’t make it was an honor, and I’m looking forward to sharing the information that I learned so we can all benefit from it.
One of my favorite events this month was Copper Brass & Paper Goods’ fifth year anniversary event. She hosted a marketplace with Black Women-Owned Brands, so of course I went out to buy from Black Women.
Spent quality time with family
I got to spend a few days with my son. He’s deployed in Korea and came home for a few days, so I baked and made all his favorite foods, and we spent some time visiting family. Making time for family can be a challenge when you’re running a business, but we can never get the time we have with them back, so I made the conscious decision to prioritize family time.
And the importance of this really hit home for me after my senior dog, Trinidad James, passed away.
I knew it was coming, but I wasn’t prepared for the level of sadness I’d feel. Which made working and doing everything else on my to-do list difficult, so I did a podcast about it. I wanted to acknowledge and feel my feelings, and also talk about the realities of sometimes just having to do the work while we feel sad because we don’t have a choice. Listen to the podcast and let me know if you can relate.
Read more books
I read a lot of books this month, including:
Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon
Keep Going by Austin Kleon
Show Your Work by Austin Kleon
Brand Strategy In Three Steps by Jay Mandel
The Real-Life MBA: Your No-BS Guide to Winning the Game, Building a Team, and Growing Your Career by Jack Welch and Suzy Welch
Brand Love by Lydia Michael
Walk Through Fire: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Triumph by Shelia Johnson
All Marketers Are Liars, Seth Godin
Storyworthy, Mathew Dicks
My goal is to read at least four books a month, so I did good this month!
How was October for you? What are some things that you accomplished or some things that you’re proud of? Tell me in the comments below.
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