EmpowerHER Business Podcast

Startup Reality for Black Women Entrepreneurs

• Linette Cottrell/Coach/Accountant/Writer

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Everyone shares the highlight reel of entrepreneurship — but not the breakdowns behind it. Amber Epperson opens up about the real journey, the mistakes, and the mindset shifts that changed everything.

Host Linette Cottrell talks with Amber Epperson, Founder and Scent Strategist of The Scented Vine, about building a business at the intersection of storytelling, science, and scent — while navigating money trauma, self-doubt, and the emotional ups and downs most entrepreneurs hide.

In this episode, we discuss:

  • The truth about the first five years of business no one talks about
  • How money trauma silently impacts business decisions
  • Mindset shifts that helped Amber move forward after mistakes
  • Building a brand rooted in storytelling, science, and sensory experience
  • Learning from failures instead of masking the struggle

👉 Follow the podcast and share it with a sister who needs this conversation. We’re on a mission to help Black women make it through the first five years in business — and thrive far beyond them.


Episode Resources:

EmpowerHER Business Podcast, Host - Linette Cottrell

Amber Epperson | The Scented Vine

Let’s Thrive—together!


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Together, we’re helping women entrepreneurs thrive beyond Year Five!

SPEAKER_00

Well, hello beautiful people, and welcome back to the Empower Her Business Podcast. I'm your host, Lynette Cottrell, founder of Empower Her Advisory, and I guide women founders through designing business financial systems that bring relief and revenue. My calling is to free women from centuries of business structure that were not built without feminine energy in mind. And I invite women founders to go further and expand their capacity to hold their increased wealth. As you know, Empower Her Business Podcast is all about delivering conversations, expertise, and solutions to black women founders figuring out how to build sustainable businesses and hungry for the real stories that represent them. And today's conversation feels like one you don't just listen to, you experience it. Because we're talking about alignment, we're talking about faith, we're talking about the power of creating something that people don't just buy but they feel. Today's guest is the founder of The Sented Divine, a brand centered around connection, memory, and the sensory experience of scent. Please help me welcome Amber Epherson.

SPEAKER_03

That was wonderful. I feel like you wrote a better bio than I could have ever done for myself. Meanwhile, I'm listening to your voice feeling like Quiet Storm is so fooling. I love that. Thank you for that introduction.

SPEAKER_00

You are so welcome. So I want to give you the opportunity now, Amber, to share with our audience who is Amber beyond the founder title.

SPEAKER_03

Oh, I love that. Um, you know, we start used to talking about, oh, here's what I do and here's how I say. Yeah. Um honestly, at the core of who Amber is, she is a daughter of the king who was really just out here building a legacy through the marketplace, making sure that people are connected. I'm a connector. And I know that inherently I want to not only encourage, but I want to let people know there's more. You can do more. There's something better, there's something else. And whether that is as a mother, as a wife, as a sister, a best friend, a hype woman, whatever role I play, I want to be the connecting role. Not necessarily in the front. I just want, especially black women, and be very clear and very unapologetic in that. I work with anyone, absolutely anyone, but there have been centuries of disenfranchisement for black women. And we have such amazing things to offer, not just to be taken from us, but that we can offer through our own autonomy. And I want to be the one that's like that's like a midwife. Let me help you birth these things, let me show you what's possible. Let's let's get this out here. So that's a long around the barn way of saying I'm a connector. I'm here to support in this ecosystem.

SPEAKER_00

All right, my kind of girl. Beautiful. So let's talk about before your business existed. Because I find that a lot of us struggle with getting started in our business. So before your business existed, what season does it feel like you were in?

SPEAKER_03

So my background is in events. Okay, so I am from a tourist city. Nice here on the coast, a little geechie girl from Savannah, Georgia. We are a very big tourism city. So my entire focus was I'm gonna go to school, I'm gonna focus on events and tourism. So I worked corporate, nonprofit. Right before I started the business, I was in higher education. And in that season, um, it was a season of I'm constantly busy, but I don't feel fruitful at all. I am always doing stuff, but it was that feeling of is this it? This this can't be it. I was working aggressively hard, being paid mediocre. I was like, mm-mm. Okay, guy, what's what's the mood? Because if you called me to be fruitful, I'm not doing it. I have a lot of output, but it's busy work. What is it that I'm doing? And he told me what to do, but like the hard-headed child that I am, I I took it and I ran. And I said, I got it, thank you, I'm good. And I ran on, and um that started the journey. So starting wasn't hard, I was ready to start. I was super excited about starting. Um I had no idea what I was doing because what's so funny is when I started the business, he was like, You should start a candle company. I had never made a candle a day in my life, I didn't even really purchase candles for real. Um, I quit my job October of 2017. The first candle I ever made was December of 2017. Quit the job had never even done it, right? But that's just who I am. I was like, God, you said it. Oh, right. Oh, oh, I'm on this, I got it. But like most of us tend to do, I took the instruction and then I thought that I was still in control. And I I ran like a toddler, and wow, I ran away thinking I knew exactly what I was doing. And what is the thing? Man, listen. Okay, so and I'm trying to give you the the version of what happened then because now I'm looking at it in hindsight. It was it was me thinking that I was still in control, right?

SPEAKER_02

Right, right.

SPEAKER_03

Um, at the time, I believed that the prayer was God, you are going to elevate me into business ownership, that's gonna solve the money issues, and we're gonna be in charge of our own time, and it's gonna be a thing. I'm gonna create a legacy. Uh, the problem was I took a direct a direct like guidance from him, and then I added my own thing to it. So instead of taking what he said as here is the the next step I want you to do, and then staying partnered with him, I took what he wanted me to do, and then I added my own strategy, my own decisions, my own understanding into that thing, and I spent the next four years building something that came tumbling down. And I said, Okay, I'm listening now, guys. So hard headed. Um, but I'm listening. Um so yes, to make it back to what you said, starting wasn't hard. I was excited about that, yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Um, yes, I started getting to that freedom and and building that legacy.

SPEAKER_03

So you just what you thought it was gonna be, right? You're like, oh, this is gonna be it. Oh, this thank you, God. Why did I never and I learned quickly. Okay, you thought. Oh, you you thought. So what I do now is I'm making sure everything that I stumbled over every single time I hit a wall, every single time I I fell in a pothole, or I came across a detour. I'm telling everybody. I I don't like when entrepreneurs get on social media and they shame people with nine to fives, or they try to show the glitz and the glamour of entrepreneurship as though they have figured out the golden key. Yeah, so here's how you make uh over six figures a year, and here's how you da-da. That's not the story. You are you're that's pride. You are trying to make sure you are positioning yourself above other people when truly entrepreneurship is amazing. It I will never go back, but that's because it's for me. I understand that now, but I need everyone to see I did this and that was horrible. I made this decision because I thought it was a good idea, but it wasn't a god idea. I started to do things that felt like that was the next step that made sense, and I found myself out of the pot and into the fire. Back to back, back to back. I mean, I was good and hard-headed, and I'm I'm not saying I'm fully delivered, but now I am quicker on realizing you all right, you're doing too much, you're getting a little too big here. Um, so yeah, I think that's that's one of the biggest things for me is telling people along the way, this is what I did when I was doing it. So I just want to caution you to consider all of this before you make a decision, right? That is how you get past the oh, one year in business, three years, and we're struggling. No, make it past that.

SPEAKER_00

Yes, yes. So, what you're saying is as you stumble through your processes and your mistakes to learn and grow, you are now sharing those growth experiences with other women entrepreneurs so they can not have to go through the process themselves, right? They can learn from your mistakes.

SPEAKER_03

Absolutely, absolutely. One of my biggest things that I always tell God when I'm going through something, like, okay, I know my pain has a purpose. So, whatever it is I'm learning, please first let me only learn it one time. Please open my ears so I only have to learn it.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I love that.

SPEAKER_03

But as soon as I get it, tell me who I need to share it with. Show me who needs to know this too. Because one thing I don't want to do is I show up to the gate and he says, Why are you still filled with the things I told you? You should come to me empty. You should have told everyone. Yeah, and I don't want to answer to that account. I'm like, You right? So let me tell you now, because there's so much that we can do right now. And if somebody would have told us, if somebody would have shown us, let me change that. If someone would show us this is what you can do, and here's how it can work for you. That's also the second piece that I think a lot of times we struggle with in business. We black women, we are one of the most educated populations. We'll go back and get a degree real quick, right?

SPEAKER_00

Certification, a degree, uh appointment, uh, yes.

SPEAKER_03

What? Workshop, yes. A webinar, yeah. We will be in the room, yeah. Taking notes. But then we get struggled on, like, well, what do we do with that? How do we apply it for us in this season? What does that look like? And one thing I really want to do is not just say, you know, you should consider this on top of this and then walk away. That's foolishness. I really want to say, hey, tell me what you have going on. What do you have capacity for? Where are you trying to head? Here are some things that you should probably consider to get you from, as my good friend Ashley said, from point A to point B to your vision. Because I don't want you just headed from one step. The goal is to still make it to that vision, right? So we need to move all of these pieces as they are fitted to you, not what work, because you mentioned it earlier, things that weren't made with us in mind, right? All of the information made us come on, come on.

SPEAKER_00

I mean, that's that's the passion behind this podcast because I was going to all of those free workshops, all of the business center programs, following all the steps. I'm like, because you know I know how to work hard, I know how to follow processes, right? I know how to follow processes, okay? So I know I did what you said I should be doing, but I'm still Why am I not seeing? Amen. Why why is it not working out for me? What's not happening? You are not taken into uh in the concepts of all your programs and not taken into consideration who I am as a black woman and how these systems work for me as a black woman, for me to get those results. So I was like, I need to hear from other black women to find out how they're being creative to still be successful beyond these um foundational programs that they give us with the cookie cutter processes to follow that are not working for us.

SPEAKER_03

You know what? And and trust me, I'm the first one to say when let me not mention names because there's some amazing resources out there, and I'm we are not saying that the resources aren't good. What I really want black women to have is the right filter to push the information through. Yeah. So once these organizations and these SVDCs and all of these, all these people tell you here are the steps, you need an extra filter.

SPEAKER_00

Exactly.

SPEAKER_03

Because as a black woman in America, there are certain conditions surrounding what your life looks like, what's your life? And I'm not saying that we are not a monolith, trust me, I understand that. But we still have children, responsibilities, and yes, other women do too. I get that, but our experience here is very unique. We have certain traumas and experiences that carry with us through business. That was one of the first lessons I learned that things that you struggle with personally will manifest in your business.

SPEAKER_00

Yes, they will. 100% of the time.

SPEAKER_03

100, not even 99 and a half, 100% of the time.

SPEAKER_00

That's a very good point because a lot of times we we step into entrepreneurship thinking, well, this is separate. This is about business. This is not about I can push that personal stuff aside and be successful in this business. And you can't because you're still you, your business depends upon you. So that same person with those personal issues with that trauma that's unresolved is the same person building this business. Yes, unless you take the time to heal that person, right? To have a co-person building that business.

SPEAKER_03

Oh, I love that.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, it's gonna show up.

SPEAKER_03

You know what? I would definitely say, and I I want to screen this from the mountaintops because, and I know you would understand this with your ministry, right? We bring so much shame regarding what we do not know or what we do not have around money. Yes, okay, yes, as generally speaking, black women in America, there's so much that we just were not taught, yeah, or we were taught one formula you work hard for a really long time, and they will reward you, they will reward you, and so when something happens where that reward isn't being seen or it is just being dangerous, yeah, die out of reach, work harder, work harder, yeah. We will head down, push through, persevere through depression, through everything. Everything we will push through it because we think the formula is I just gotta work hard and then it'll come. Yeah, I'm not saying work hard, I'm not saying don't work hard. What I'm saying is there are so many mindsets that we have to unlearn and reshift and reroute and reframe so that we can see that sustained growth, especially surrounding money. That was one of the big it took me years. It took me years not to fix it, to realize it. That the scarcity mindset that I have around money, which I thought was just cautious budgeting, you know, that's fear, yeah, that's fear, yeah. When I brought that into business, the decisions that I would make for my personal life wasn't going to grow me in business, especially when I was working in circles with people who realized that's not it. So they were running circles around me, and it wasn't until I got my feelings hurt and somebody said, You think you are celebrating six years in business and you are doing year one for the sixth time because you are not thinking properly. Oh needed it, absolutely needed it. This whole this whole concept of I'm gonna bootstrap forever, yes, that has to shift, it has to scale at some point. Again, we are not saying that there is one formula that fits every single person, however, there are certain things that we were intentionally not told, and there were certain things that just our mothers and our grandmothers didn't know to pass to us, especially because most of them, most of them weren't business owners. That wasn't something they could do, right? They can't teach us what they didn't know.

SPEAKER_02

Exactly.

SPEAKER_03

So if there's nothing else that you, the listening audience, get from this podcast and hearing this country girl speak to y'all tonight. I really want you to recognize there are certain mindsets that may help you function in the dysfunction of your personal life, they will hold you back in business. Yeah, you will constantly face obstacles and pushback and oppression, eventually leading to overwhelm and burnout, and you closing the business because you did not address the things that needed to change.

SPEAKER_00

And you said a whole lot right there. I need to let that sit in, sit in, sit in the range and spirits of the audience because that was a lot.

SPEAKER_03

It was years. That's what I mean. Like, y'all don't go through what I've been through. Yeah, please listen to it right now for 30 seconds, yeah, and then move forward and grow. Yeah, much faster and much farther than I did. Because it took me years to get to that point. So again, like I said, just to acknowledge it, then you have to unlearn it, and then you have to learn the new way to be, and then you have to integrate that into your everyday. So it is a process. So please, baby girl, gift yourself grace in realizing that once you realize, oh, I didn't realize I thought like this, you cannot flip a switch, and then you wake up the next day and it's done.

SPEAKER_00

Nah.

SPEAKER_03

Surround yourself with a community of people who genuinely care about you, who are also recognizing, hmm, that's not gonna work. And so you can do it together. They hold you accountable, yes, they show you and they teach you things that you all can use and add to your toolbox together. Like you just need the right support. You need the right support, you need the right people. I'm not saying you need to hire everybody, I'm saying that you need to surround yourself to the left and to the right with women who understand you and who see who can, even if they don't see your vision, they trust that you can.

SPEAKER_02

Right.

SPEAKER_03

And they're gonna push you up however they can. That is the difference. That makes all of the difference.

SPEAKER_00

Very good, very good. So, guys, we're talking about mindset shifts. We're talking about dealing with money trauma that we have that we don't even know we have yet. Because to um Amber's point, sometimes we think we're just we think we're just budgeting money, we're just you know, being safe with money, we're just being good with money, right? When we're really being having a very limiting view of the possibility of wealth we can build, right? We have it stuck at a very low level. We're thinking, oh, we're just a good steward of money, but no, we're not. We need to, that's why one of the things I do is help women to expand their capacity for wealth. Because that out of one side, we're saying, I want my business to grow to this amount of revenue, and out of the other side, we're saying I'm not comfortable with that amount of revenue. I need it to be lower so I can manage it. I can manage it down here because I'm used to this struggle. It took growth to grow beyond that struggle, and sometimes we think we want it, but everything we do is against it. So, first step, Ms. Amber Chair with us was to realize, become aware that that's where we are and that's what we're dealing with. Then what is the solution? What's the shift we need to make to get out of that? And what are we shifting to? Now there's something new to learn, right? A new way of thinking, a new way of moving that we have to learn, and not just learn it and understand it, but implement it.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. Consistently, yeah, consistently, because there will be pushback. Because remember, we are so used to operating in our comfort zone. Yeah, maybe there's no growth in your comfort zone.

SPEAKER_00

Even when the comfort zone is painful, right? Even when it's about struggle, we're so used to you can be so used to struggling that to find something's like a throw. Find something's like a throw. That when we feel a little relief, it doesn't feel safe because it's unfamiliar. And then we find ourselves going right back to that struggle because I know how to struggle, right? I know how to work over two hours. Yeah, and not sleep well when I need to be sleeping and be guilty about resting. I know how to do that at an expert level.

SPEAKER_03

You are saying seven things at one time. My brain can't even, I'm like, stop.

SPEAKER_00

But we gotta start embracing rest. I know how to rest when I need to. When my body says you need to go rest, I know how to rest without feeling guilty. I know how to receive. Because we know how to give too. I know how to receive. We know how to give.

SPEAKER_03

Yes. We're used to that. Yes. We don't know how to receive. Oh, wait, because I'm about to step on some toes. Come on, come on. Without thinking that someone's gonna hold it over your head. We have this huge thing of I don't want to be a burden or I don't want to feel like I owe somebody that you won't ask. And if they offer it, you won't receive. That's a trauma response. And I'm telling you this with somebody who knows. I know it. It took so long for me for my operational partner for me to trust to ask her for help. I recognize that God sent her. I was like, you are so amazing. You're so she was like, Why don't you ever reach out and ask me for help? Huh? Huh? Well, you you know, like I don't pay you, and so I don't want you to ever feel like that insert excuses, right? Insert trauma. Right. We are struggling to receive something. We keep saying, Oh, I want this soft life, I deserve it, but just like you said, you don't move like it, you don't walk like it. You walk like you are comfortable with the struggle, and I understand why, but that doesn't make the understanding of it okay.

SPEAKER_02

There you go, right?

SPEAKER_03

That is the shift that we have to see, and you're like, Oh, well, I don't do that, I don't struggle. If you are absolutely fine every single month thinking I broke even, you're fine there. Yeah, like, no, you're thinking as long as I don't, oh, whoo, I'm good. That is a struggle mindset. You're like, I need just enough, not to I need just enough so that I can. That's a limiting belief. Yeah, it is you want just enough, God promise you, exceedingly and abundantly, but you're thinking, okay, if my bills for the month are seven thousand dollars, if I make seven thousand, I'm good. I don't need anything else. And I understand you're right, you don't need anything else, but you did you deserve it? I feel like you deserve it, yeah. I feel like you deserve more, and you should have it. That doesn't mean I'm not telling you to be a consumer and to be greedy. What I'm saying is that if you are dreaming of building a business that can sustain an ecosystem, that can support a legacy, that can employ other women who have changed. Yes, yeah, then you are going to have to be comfortable being uncomfortable when you are aligned on the right path.

SPEAKER_02

Yes.

SPEAKER_03

And that may look like trusting in a season where you don't get it. It may look like some people calling you crazy because I've had more than one person that you are, you need to just go get a job. You need to go get a real job. That's the best. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Yes, not just a job, but a real job.

SPEAKER_03

Okay. Listen, if you know that you were called for more and you were called for higher, and if you understand that you are walking in your purpose, I'm not telling you to chase money, I'm telling you to walk in your purpose because everything that you need is going to be given to you.

SPEAKER_01

Yes.

SPEAKER_03

When you are moving in alignment, how you need to do that. And if you have questions of I'm not even sure what my purpose is, let's start there. Let's get comfortable asking the uncomfortable questions. That part. Let's actually say, I'm not sure what I want to do, I'm not sure where I'm headed. I have a hazy view of what a good life could look like, but I don't know the next step. If we would we would free so many women if if more of us could just say, I know what I want to do, and I know where I want to go, I don't know how to get there, I don't, I don't know how the money's gonna look. I'm not sure how to manage this. Please, y'all gonna have me stuttering here. Please say it, acknowledge that because no one expects you to know it all, but you, no one but you. Yes, yes, you don't have to carry it all on your own. That's why groups and women like this exist. Yeah, so you can see that there are other people who look like you, who understand your experience, who know exactly what you are up against, right? Who know what you have struggled and fought through, who can tell you now come on, let's keep going. Right now, let's keep going.

SPEAKER_00

Yes, yeah, yes, don't let me preach. All that, all that, all that's right on spot. Yes, oh my goodness. So I think a couple of things there. One is that we are so used to not being supported that we have um learned out of necessity to survive by doing so, you know, like if you're not gonna give it to if you're not gonna help me, I'm gonna figure it out, right? If you're not gonna give me the the normal level of resources, I'm gonna figure it out with this minimum level of resources because I'm gonna do it anyway. So the growth becomes the necessary growth becomes being willing to act for help when we need it, act for support when we need it, and of course, to be in those um networks in those circles of sisterhood where you can get that support and it be wholesome, right? Oh, wholesome support, yeah, wholesome support, but also the work becomes that we have to transition from working to survive to the work of becoming something bigger, becoming something bigger, and so everything we're talking about here, when we talk about being able to receive, being able to ask for support, being able to say, I need help, being able to grow into a higher level of wealth, all those things are work too. So you can either work struggling, you can either continue your work and struggling and barely surviving, or you can work to be elevated, but both require work, right? So why not do the one? Why not do the one that really helps you to build that legacy you want, right? Get that financial freedom, to have enough wealth to not just make ends meet, but to bless others, right? Who can you bless and you're just making ends meet? What?

SPEAKER_03

What can you bless? Please run that way. Can you imagine the concept of oh my god, I have enough not only to to survive, but to bless somebody else and not expect it back. No, yes, I did it because I want you to come. Can you imagine that is so outside of the realm of possibility for so many women, and that breaks my heart? Yes, yes, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00

So let's talk about the scented vine. So you you talk about your journey the first um five, six years, how you started out with the vision of the candle company, and you transitioned from there to the scented vine. So, how did that transition happen? Because a lot of times we are challenged with pivoting in our businesses, transitioning to something new, right? We want to say, Well, I said I was gonna do this, and we're kind of rigid. And well, if I changed, then does that mean I failed, or is it just time to pivot? So tell us a little bit about your experience there.

SPEAKER_03

So here's where we started, okay? And I'm pausing because I'm I'm laughing at myself. So we, of course, didn't start as the scented vine when God told me to hey, start a candle company. And I took it and ran. And if I would have just waited to get more instructions, right? I wouldn't, I spent those first four years known as Common Sense Candle Company. We're an artisan candle company. We were doing um like eco-friendly scented products, candles, wax products, all of that. It was good. Let me not say this because again, humble beginnings are still beginnings that started, and I'm proud of that. Um, the issue is that that wasn't in alignment with where I was supposed to be. So I I was here, I was like, Oh, I was in the building, right? And he was like, You come on in the room, you need to come on in the room, right? Because I understood. Remember, I said that I'm a connector. And it was like, well, well, why this? I understand why now. From events, I was able to connect people to these experiences. I loved that. I wasn't able to coherently say that then. I just knew, like, oh, I love this. I now know that the this was the experience. Like, I'm the person when you come to my house, let me make you a play. I'm the hungry girl, well, you can take it to go. But I want to make sure that you are good. The experience that I provide for you, I wanted to be something where you're like, I was seen, I feel good, I am comforted here. So when I first started common sense, I knew even at that time that the candle was like, it's not just a candle. I want when they burn this to think of something. I want them to be reminded of something. I want them to feel it wanted to be evocative. I wanted it to pull out to that, that favorite memory. If you were like, oh, I really I'm planning to do this trip to Tuscany, so I'm saving the money where I'm gonna burn you, I'm gonna give you this scent that when you smell it, it smells like Tuscany, right? So I knew that it's like I was touching it. I was touching it. But because I had taken Tuscan and done, uh huh, I didn't get the full instructions. It's like I left before he could give me more instructions. Again, that was my problem. I was hard-headed, I know God, I'm so sorry. So, what happened? Four years in, I was like, I'm building this company, we booming, we're growing, right? And we are we are even still we're navigating things here, right? So remember, I started in 2017, it was in 2021. We are at the height of this lovely thing called the pandemic at that time. And I was like, you know what? I'm let me get serious about protecting this thing that I've been building. And I found this amazing black woman, an IP attorney, and she said, Great, I'll help you to protect the brand that you're building. She came to me, Lynette, and said, Um, I'm gonna need you to cease and desist immediately, honey, because there is a company out in Utah with a name that is very similar. And if they decide to step into that class, it is within their right, and you would have to stop everything.

SPEAKER_01

Okay.

SPEAKER_03

So at that time, oh, and please understand I'm big mad. I'm I'm I'm snotting and crying. I'm just I mean, we have we I mean labels, branded merch, websites, because you don't think of the small details, everything was centered around this. But here's where the scented vine came in. After I finished wiping my face and I I put my legs to them big girl panties, God said, You ready to listen? What I wanted you to do when you first prayed to me was you didn't feel fruitful. And I told you in John 15, if you stay connected to me, I'm the true vine. You remain in me, I'm gonna remain in you, you will produce fruit. Okay, so my pivot wasn't like, oh, there was it's not even the IP confusion. That was the catalyst I needed to get back in alignment.

SPEAKER_02

Gotcha.

SPEAKER_03

That was the moment that I needed of you're gonna take this ale, you're gonna take it and you're gonna take it on your chin, and you're gonna keep moving. I take that, yeah, and then you need to get back in alignment with what it is I told you to do. So, again, candles were the starting point. But I said, Okay, God, if I'm connected to this vine, what's my part? Amber, what do you do? What are you naturally skilled at? What is that thing that people come to you for? Oh, connection, that experience. What is the the best way that you could do that through their most powerful sense? Their scent. The way that scent works, because don't don't let me get started on my bill, not a science guy. I will uh machine. So when you think of and just real quick, real quick science lesson, no quiz at the end, yeah, how your senses work, whatever you touch, see, hear, or taste, it goes into your brain, it has to stop at the reception desk. That desk we refer to as the thalamus. The thalamus job is to be like a bouncer in front of a club. The club is the brain, the brain has a whole lot that is doing it every single point of the day. The thalamus says, Hey, we just saw something. What do you want us to do with it? Hey, we just heard something. Where do you want us to send and process this? Hey, we're tasting some food. Do you mind? What should we tell our body that this tastes like, right? Everything that you smell is so elite. It bypasses the bouncer, it has its own private section in this club called the olfactory bulb. That bulb is linked to two very important things: the amygdala and the hippocampus. That is where your emotions are processed and where your memories are stored. That's why you could see a picture of your ex-boyfriend and be like, oh, he gets on my nerves. Or you could be out in public and you could smell that cologne he always wears, and you're looking around, like, is he here? Oh my god. Because you're recalling things way more vividly. Your brain doesn't have to process anything it smells, your brain is aware of what you smell before you are. That's why it's our most primitive thing. It is directly connected to your limbic system, that is, your thoughts, your behaviors, your actions. Okay. So when God said, if you are going to be the part of the vine that is responsible for connection, use the most powerful connection in their body. Help them feel something, help them see something, help them do something, help them know something, connect them to something bigger. So I say all of that to say the scented vine exists to give people the tools to connect them to the world through the power of scent. Now, those tools could be we might create a custom scent formula for a business, we might do a sensory experience for a mental health practitioner. We might do some using scent on test taking strategies for juniors and seniors that have test taking anxiety. We might so there's so many ways that we could use scent. Our job is to just make it accessible, it is to break down the stigma surrounding, oh, it just smells good. No, girl, stop, stop it. It's more than that, right? We are here to give you the tools because we believe that the world is disconnected, but we could reconnect if we just use the tools that are already here. My job is to use sent to do it. So, yes, it started with the candle, but the candle was not the end of the story, it was the beginning.

SPEAKER_00

Okay, that was all right. I learned something.

SPEAKER_03

I'm like, don't go too deep on the science lesson, but that's my I had to do it.

SPEAKER_00

Yes, yes. So there are no bouncers for the scent.

SPEAKER_03

Absolutely not. It goes directly to the old factory bulb. That's also why if we're here right now, if you were to start smelling smoke, your brain would tell you to move right now. It would tell you to move. If you were to see smoke, unless it was dark and it was in your face and you see a fire, if you were to just see smoke haze movement, your brain would say, Should I be concerned? Because it's been processed. But here's also the key your thalamus, once it's like, oh, the brain is busy, I'm gonna modulate the information we just got. That's why you could see something and probably not remember it correctly. That's why you could taste something and say, What did that taste right? Um it was fine to me. You're right, it was modulated, right? But everything, it was your brain was created in such a way that the smell was meant to protect and to connect your brain. So I am here so that you can tap into that thing. You can enjoy it, whether you are a brand, a community organization, a creative, it doesn't matter. I just want you to figure out here's the question: what's your story? Who are you telling it to? Let's figure out a way to use scent to do it. That's what we're here for.

SPEAKER_00

Wonderful. So you talked about scent as a connection tool. So, what does it actually do to um to your memory and emotion? Like, let's say for you, what is the scent that you can think of that really activates your memory and your emotion?

SPEAKER_03

I'll tell you a story. I feel like that old man at the gas station. Let me tell you a story. Um, this was the moment in business that I realized this was the starting point. It was like, I think I'm on to something. 2019 holiday collection. I had made these four cents. One of those was called Betty's Sweet Potato Pie. This was made in an old to my grandmama. Her name was not Betty, that's just what I call her. Don't ask no questions, I don't know. Um, she made the best sweet potato pie, creamy, no strings. It wasn't too sweet, it was just perfect.

SPEAKER_00

Yes, so I was like, Do you understand what I'm saying? Yeah, come on.

SPEAKER_03

So I that was the thing, all right? So that was holiday collection November, December of 2019. Okay. Going into September, the Lord said, Betty, come on back home. So I'm wrecked. I'm like, oh my god. I'm gonna love my girl gown. So holiday 2020 comes, and it's time for me to make Betty's sweet potato pie. I start mixing it, and as soon as I smell it, I'm oh I'm bald and I'm a nasty mess. I am a nasty mess. But what's so what was so interesting is that remember, this is December. This will no, this is like November of 2020. She passed in September. So right after then, I'm in her room, we're going through clothes, I'm looking at photos and videos, and do I feel it? Yes. Does it hurt? Mm-hmm. But it wasn't until I smelled something that was so closely, directly related to her that everything in my body was ready to just flip a table. And it is because when I smelled this scent that I made for her, the only association with Betty's sweet potato pie was that was Betty. I made it for Betty. So when I smelled it, it didn't matter that I could smell other stuff, it didn't matter that I had made a hundred other scents. It was the fact that I made it for her and she's not here. So vividly, my body felt the loss. My body remembered in that moment she wasn't here because grief is a sneaky somebody. Yes, it is.

SPEAKER_01

Yes, it is.

SPEAKER_03

But when you smell something that is so closely related to an experience, a memory, a moment that's here, your body takes over. Your body then tells you here's what we're gonna do. That's why companies have been using scent and not telling you. And I know they're mad at me, but I'm I'm not I'm here to move the gatekeeper out of the way, and I'm here to make it accessible for the solopreneur who's working out of their garage, for the service provider who thinks that you need a physical space in order to do it. They're just thinking, oh, yeah, you know, luxury hotels and boutiques. And I know when I walk into the Western, and I know when I go into you know the St. Regis, there's a scent, and it's luxury. Scent is more than luxury, scent is a vital part of your everyday life. Scent affects 75% of the decisions you make. It's like when you're sick, when you're congested and you can't smell, can you taste anything? No, no, but we don't give scent the credit it deserves. And gosh, vlogging, I'm not about to take it no more. So I am here. My fruitfulness, my fruits are to let people know you can regulate your nervous system when you're using scent. You can make sure that you can create calm if you're struggling with test taking. Hey, you know that you can use scent in your mental health office if you want to make sure. So there's so many things, and it's not one size fits all. It's what do you need? What do you need to do? Then let's tap into the science of it. It's it's no mystery, it's not well about to say Billy Blainkson Tabo. That was really shame. What I'm saying, there's no Miss Cleo here, there is no magic, it's all science. It is all science, it's all science, story, and strategy. That's it. That's why anyone can use a scent in their business. If you're a community organization, if you if you are someone who you just love your home to smell like your home, because you don't have you have that friend who's like, oh, it's spring now. Today is officially the first day of spring. I gotta change all my curtains, I gotta change all my pillows to switch it all up. They also switch out the scents, right? Because they are very intentional about when you walk into that door, oh, it smells just like I'm at Lynette's house. I love coming over here. Not that it just smells good, right? This smells like Lynette. I know, I know she did this. That is what scent does. It tells your story before you ever have to open your mouth.

SPEAKER_00

Wow, that's amazing. So if you're talking to an entrepreneur who has never used scent in their business at all, and they're thinking, okay, how can I incorporate this into my business and what would be the benefit of it?

unknown

Well.

SPEAKER_00

Would you say to that entrepreneur?

SPEAKER_03

So that's two parts, right? So if their first question is, what's the benefit? That's easy, right? If you want people to have a higher like value perception of your business, we use scent. If you have a physical location and you want them to stay longer, science has already proven that having a scent increases dwell time. If you want to have brand differentiation, if you want to stand out because you feel like you're in a saturated market, use a scent. Use something that connects with your audience. Because if y'all are competing for the same people, make sure that you're talking to their brains and you're influencing the way that their brains are going to react before the competitors. If you're again a solopreneur and you're thinking, well, I don't have the big budget and I don't have the team. I can't put$50,000 into Google Ads. I can't hire an influencer. You're still talking about visual marketing. Talk to their brains. Make yourself memorable, make yourself felt. That's the first thing. It's going to make sure that the experience you are providing to your audience is remembered and it is felt because when people experience something and they feel it, they come back and they bring other people with them.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

It's like when you went to your favorite concert, you were like, Oh my god, Patty's saying the house down. You gotta see her next time she comes into town. Versus if you were like, Oh, I do like this song, you know, like play it on repeat. It's an experience. Provide an experience. That's how you stand out, that's how you make sure that people come and they patronize you, that they are saying your name, that they are using yours with word of mouth, that they move down your funnel from awareness to consideration to conversion to repeat a lot faster, and that they do come back. That's what scent does. Now, when the question is, well, what do I do? How do I get started? My first question is always the same What is your story? You would be surprised how many entrepreneurs can't answer that question because they start to answer the question by, Well, here are the products that I have, here's the services that I offer. I didn't ask you that. Your products and your services are how you do what you do. So if you would say, Oh, I'm a hairstylist, that's not what I asked you. I asked you, What is your story? What is it that you do? So if you would then say, Oh, well, you know, I specialize in alopecia, um, hair clients like alopecia clients, clients who have alopecia, let me say it like that. That's still not what you do, right? Tell me more. So we do we spend a lot of time really uncovering their story. You're like, I make sure that women feel beautiful no matter what. But that's the story. That is a story. Then it's so tell me who you serve. Who are you serving? And it's like, great, let's figure out what they need to know. So, what do you want them to know about you? What do you want them to feel? What do you want them to remember? And it's like, oh, okay, I need them to feel cared for, I want them to feel seen. When they come here, I want them to want them to realize you will not be judged here. You're gonna walk up feeling good, knowing that you're good, right? And we're gonna make sure you can sustain that, then let's turn that into a scent story. That's where that's where I come in. So that's where the shift is. It's not let me make you something that smells good, right?

SPEAKER_02

Right.

SPEAKER_03

Because that's that's so small, and that doesn't have an impact. My job is to tell your story, yeah.

SPEAKER_00

So you can take that information and create a scent for that particular entrepreneur.

SPEAKER_03

I sure can. We create the scent formula, and and it was like, well, how do you do that? It's science. It's it's well, tell me who are you serving? What do you want them to know? What do you want them to remember? For example, right now, I have a client, she's a creative, and she describes her brand as warm. She was like, when you come and you're working with me, it's like that feeling where your grandmother reached to her person church and handed you a peppermint, right? Yeah, cool. Let's let's do that story. Um if we want to make sure when they walk into you, they have that moment where they drop their shoulders from by their ears, then we need to give them something that tells their brain you're safe here, especially because her audience is primarily black people, then we understand there is already a trauma with are we safe in this space?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Great. So we're gonna give them a scent that makes them feel safe. One of those ones that would typically do that would be a sandalwood or a spice, okay? Just because of how they're formulated, just because of what the brain says. Now, let me also say this scent marketing is not creating something that you like. If you're like, oh, I don't like the way sandalwood smells, you're missing the point. You are missing the point. I am not I am not trying to make you something that smells good. If that was the point, take your cell phone down to the store and just get an air freshener that that feels good. Because every single person is so different. We are wired so uniquely. You could smell something, and I could smell something, and we could smell two very different things.

SPEAKER_02

Right, right.

SPEAKER_03

Just because our experiences are different, our memories are different, our personal preferences and tastes are different. So it's not about are we making something that everyone will love? Absolutely not. I don't care about what you love. I am making something that supports the story you're telling. Like, for example, I hate the smell of synthetic roses. I don't like it, you're not gonna make me like it. But if I was to go to an Alice in Wonderland exhibit, and I am here and I'm immersed, and I'm seeing Alice, and she's falling down this tunnel, and she makes it to the rose garden with the Queen of Hearts. If I smell roses, I'm not thinking, oh, I hate roses. I'm thinking, oh my god, I'm really here. That's it. That is the difference. It just needs to be your scent is not the main character. Your scent is supporting the story that you're telling. Your scent is immersing them in your experience. You are still the main character, you are still the star. The experience that you are giving them is still what they need to remember and what they need to feel. We are creating something that tells their brain, you're definitely in that space where you feel seen, cared for, whatever it is your story is.

SPEAKER_02

Right.

SPEAKER_03

That's how that's how we work. Let me be very clear because you can Google scent marketing right now, and you're gonna come across the big companies that have big budgets to tell Google put my stuff first, but there's a very strict and rigid formula that they use. Here's this amazing library of scent. Choose from it, from which one feels luxurious. Great, we'll help you integrate it into your boutique. What we'll integrate this into your hotel that doesn't tell a story. My job is to help people tell a story and to create that experience to help them connect with the people they serve. That is what we do, that's how we sin. That's where the Lord said, Great, now you can be fruitful. Now you can do what you're supposed to do.

SPEAKER_00

Yes, that is definitely unique. That is next level.

unknown

Oh, thank you.

SPEAKER_03

I'm trying, listen, every day we walk through, like, all right, am I doing the right thing? Okay, cool. I'm doing the right track. Let's keep going.

SPEAKER_00

Yes, that was a great, very, very clear explanation you gave there.

SPEAKER_03

Well, thank you. I hope it is. I'm trying to make sure they're like, I'm on a big education piece of they don't think about scent. Scent is never thought about outside of oh, I like how this smells, oh, I want to use this candle, oh, I love spraying this perfume, and that's it. We're like, no, it's deeper than that. It's deeper than that. So my job is to say, go a little deeper, dig a little deeper.

SPEAKER_00

Wonderful, wonderful. So being that your business sounds like it's very powerful in creativity, how do you balance that creativity with the regular um duties of being a CEO of your business?

SPEAKER_03

Let me answer this authentically. I don't know if here's here's where I messed up too. I was looking for balance. I was looking for balance. And then you realize that big balance doesn't really exist all the time. Let me explain that though. When people are thinking, all right, I want to be creative, but I also have the administrative stuff. I also have to do the visionary work, I have to do the operational work. Um, that's not about balance, it's about alignment. So I I definitely I would love to spend my days just doing idea board. Yeah. I would love to just do idea board work. Right. Um but I remember one time while LinkedIn, you asked a really good question. Like, uh what was and just to paraphrase it, it was like, when as the CEO do you find yourself really in the bag? Is it relationship building? Is it when you're in the visionary stage? Yeah. And I was like, you know, I would love to say that's what I do, but I that's not realistic for where we are right now at this stage. But again, black women, remember that. For me, I thought I was chasing balance. I thought I wanted to be able, because I'm also a mompreneur, I need to be able to do dot dot dot. It was alignment, it was what requires you to steward right now. So versus, because for me, something like a time blocking wouldn't work for me. Right, I I have to ask myself, all right, girl, what's your capacity assessment today? What do you have? The money, the time, the bandwidth, the mental energy, what does God want you to work on? Whereas when I was chasing balance, I was thinking, all right, so here's what needs to get done. Sometimes the things I want to do, I'm not supposed to be doing. So I have to stay in alignment with all right, God, you told me to make an impact and you're gonna give me the income. What impact do I need to make today? Whereas if I thought it was going to be, I'm gonna work more on the creative vision today, and I'm gonna do way more on figuring out here's a new way to attract this other type of target market. Here's a new way that I could speak to event planners. I would love to do that. But some days God is like, no, I want you to work on strategy and I want you to talk to your community, and I want you to get with the people, and I'm like, okay, so it's not balance for me.

SPEAKER_00

It is so you check in on a daily basis to see multiple times a day.

SPEAKER_03

Let's be very, let's be very clear because I'm easily distracted. He knows the child. Because let me don't don't hear me when y'all are listening to her podcast and think, oh, okay. So I just mm-mm, I know the way that my brain works and the way that I am wired. I will, it will be like, oh, shiny ball, oop squirrel. I will hear something and it's a good idea. And I'm like, oh, I want to figure that out.

SPEAKER_02

Yes.

SPEAKER_03

Oh, I just launched a new something. Let me go figure that out. I'm gonna have 32 tabs open on my computer if you leave me to me. Okay, so it is yes, it's a daily assessment, but throughout the day, all right, girl, what were you saying you're working on planner? It stayed right next to me. I have to stay focused, and I have to come back and say, All right, North Star, where are we headed? What are we doing? Because I started going down a rabbit hole, right? Right looking at these things, and that's not where it's supposed to be. That's not balance for me, and it'll shift real quick on you, it'll shift on you real quick of what you need to focus on. You'll get an email that's that is literally urgent, and you're like, there's a problem, cool. Then your balance is out the window. What do you do?

SPEAKER_02

Right.

SPEAKER_03

Work in alignment, be clear on here's what we're focusing on today. Let me do a check-in a couple hours in because I know that's when I my first wave of whoo, I think I want a snack, starts to hit, right? I'm like, all right, girl. So what do you have the capacity for right now?

SPEAKER_01

Right.

SPEAKER_03

What's happening right now? Is this still your priority? It was your priority at 7 a.m. Yeah. Still your priority at 11:30. If not, we will shift.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I love that. I love that. So check into your alignment. So, what works for you is checking into what's the line for today and for this moment, right?

SPEAKER_03

For this moment, what do I need? Yeah, what is the priority right now? And I realize also entrepreneurs, we get so rigid on here's the goal. January came in and I made my annual plan for 2026. I have them broken down by quarters, then I have that quarter broken down by month, and I know exactly what I'm working on about a week. Baby, this is why you got to pivot so often because you're so rigid on what you're supposed to be doing that you're leaving no room for alignment. You're needing you're leaving no room for grace, you're leaving no room for anything new. That new experience, a new person, a new partnership, whatever it is, you got to leave space. You got to give yourself grace on how you're going to move and maneuver. And for me, it comes from I need to stay in alignment by checking my capacity and checking to make sure that I'm still doing what I'm supposed to be doing.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. That's very important. What you what you're talking about now is um something that I work with a lot is us giving ourselves permission to build our business and the floor of our business in a way that it honors who we are as a person, right? And you have to know what is your attention span, right? I uh you can't say I'm gonna do this for four hours, and you know after 15 minutes, you're gonna start scrolling on it on the internet because you just can't take it, right?

SPEAKER_03

So you're gonna someone told you that's what you need to do. Someone told you that that's the best way to get this done. Is that the best for you?

SPEAKER_00

For you, yes. You have to understand you. You have to absolutely trying to try and force yourself into a box or a structure, right? That's not gonna work. You're gonna make it harder than it needs to be. So I love that you share that your uh process is about alignment, it's about checking in everyday moments with within the day, right?

SPEAKER_01

Right, right.

SPEAKER_00

That is so real. That's that's that's the real process. So wonderful.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

So let me ask you this because we talked about um money and building wealth and leaving legacy and um the capacity for wealth. How has your capacity for money changed or your relationship with money changed from when you first started your business to where you are now in this season of your business?

SPEAKER_03

Let me tell you what something that's so funny. Just today, and I'm not saying this because it's the podcast and it sounds good. Literally, just today, about four hours ago, I was telling, I have what I call my reset room. This is a group of women who I am intimately like I can be vulnerable. I can tell y'all I'm struggling today. Y'all, oh, here's this great thing. It's not just here's an accountability group. No, right, these are women that God was like, you can show them your heart. And then you can do that, they can do the same with you, right? So in my reset room, they were talking about things that I never learned, right? They were like, Oh, yeah, I wish we would have known about this and how we could do this with private equity, and we really should have been doing the Roth and the Here go me. Old Amber would have felt, I don't know if inferior is the word. I would have felt like I was incompetent, right? And I would have felt ashamed that I didn't know it. Me right now is like, oh my god, you're so good. Thank you for sending me these women who know these things, who are interested in learning these things, and who really have a passion for teaching me. Because look at that, I had no idea it was possible. Truly, the change has come from you don't know everything you need to know, right? Understand that remain teachable, remain teachable, but be able to discern what's good doctrine, what's good advice, and what is applicable to you. And a lot of that came from me being able to discern and to filter that thing was because I now recognize it was the community, it's the people that I'm surrounded with, it's me making sure that I'm I'm constantly tapped in. God, what are we doing today? God, is this real or is this a distraction? Okay, we're not gonna do that, right? So that whole process of I don't know everything I need to know about money. I don't, and I can tell you that I'll tell the first person whenever I'm talking to a client, like, oh, I need help with such and such, baby, all I can do is pray with you. I'll lead you halfway to hell trying to ask me questions about your tax situation. I am not the one. I can tell you somebody who can help you, but it's not gonna be trying to acknowledge that I'm so good with that. But me realizing I don't know it. I also, when I first got in, I'm gonna learn it myself. Why do we have to learn all the things to stop it?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, that's that that's that, that's the trauma of being unsupported, right? Because we've been being unsupported so long, you have your go-to is let me figure it out, let me go research, let me get this information first.

SPEAKER_03

I can rely on me. I don't have to pay anyone else. If I let myself down, I only have to be disappointed in me. Right stop it, stop it. The mindset with money was realizing that if that's not where you are naturally skilled at, don't think that you are about to go get this capacity and skill. Do you need to know what your numbers are telling you? Absolutely, you absolutely do. But do you need to then go and become a skilled and a licensed accountant? No, that's foolishness. You need to know enough to realize that somebody's stealing from you. You need to know enough. Like, are you bringing in enough revenue to cover those expenses? Then you need to be able to find out what help do I need. Yes, where do I start right now? Yeah, and then what do I learn from here? It took me a long time to realize, a long time to realize.

SPEAKER_00

Yes, yes. It took me a while to remember that too, because um we tend to be, and we we've said this a lot of different ways, but we tend to be um like superwomen sometimes, right? Yes, oh just because you can learn something doesn't mean you need to be learning something new, right? Just because you know you can you can understand, you can read, you can, you can comprehend, you can get it over time. What else can that energy you have be utilized for? And where I see this a lot is that on social media, there's always a course, there's always a webinar. I can show you how to to write your own grants, I can show you how to get grants, I can show you how to do XYZ, and then when you get to it, it's like 25 steps you have to go through to complete this, and like you're always.

SPEAKER_03

Are we paying for the mastermind and the courses and the country, and then it's more stuff to upsell? Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_00

And then you're like, okay, I try, I I you we burn ourselves out in these processes as opposed to thinking of ways that instead of being the expert in everything, where can I find a resource? Like you said, why where can I get in a room full of people where somebody already knows this and they can tell me? Or there's this platform that we're both a part of, border black. I thought I was waiting for platform excellent platform just for things like this. So when you're thinking, should I take this course and learn how to how what I should be doing on social media? Instead of doing that, come on, border black, find someone who can help you with your social media and use water bucks to pay for it instead of money. So you guys gotta check out water.

SPEAKER_03

And I really need y'all to hear her. She is not saying don't go be educated, don't go learn new things. The here's the line that we tend to constantly cross. We take learning new things as the only way to make this business move, and that's not true. And honestly, that is not the way that successful businesses operate. It's not, I can absolutely confirm a hundred percent that is not how they operate. They did not learn all the things that's a lie that we ate. I gotta learn and know all the things and do all the things. No, what you need to do is what you do best. Yes, you need to automate and sustain that, and then figure out what here's the here's the practical tip. What do you do best? What is your thing? What as a CEO, what is your bag? Get in it. Yes, figure out what is the next thing that is going to move your engine forward. What is the next revenue generating activity, if that's how you want to look at it, right? What is that role? Get the help for that. Stop thinking of trade to do, stop spending six hours on Canva.

SPEAKER_02

Yes.

SPEAKER_03

And you are not naturally even, you don't even care about marketing. Right. You sit here thinking, oh, I need to go hire a social media manager because somebody told you you gotta be on social media all day. Meanwhile, you here, you are a cobbler, you make shoes. Yeah, why are you sitting here trying to learn all these things?

SPEAKER_02

Yes.

SPEAKER_03

When the truth is, focus on what it is that you do, do that better than anybody. Yes, and then get somebody else to help you with the other stuff. And that we're not even saying hire, that's why she's saying barter black, a structured way. We're not getting paid for saying this either, by the way. No, it is a structured way that you can get the help, the goods, the services that you need while still keeping your cash flow. Yes, that's all I'm saying. That's all I'm saying.

SPEAKER_00

Check it out, guys. Yeah, so this has been a wonderful conversation. Before we round it out, I want to ask you is there anything that you want to share with the audience that maybe we didn't come across in our conversation? Anything else that you want to? Share, you're free to.

SPEAKER_03

You know what? I ran my mouth so much, I don't even know if there was anything left untouched. Um, I would say this if you are a solopreneur and you're listening and something in here, your antennas are moving, and you're thinking, What exactly I do? I want to build something, I want to build something lasting, I want to build something that has an impact. Um, am I looking for a mentor? Am I am I okay, cool, don't go learn all the things. What is it? If I ask you what help do you need, and you can't answer that question, that's where I want you to sit. I want you to sit. If someone was to say, What do you need right now? And you think, um, because you're not used to getting help, I need you to listen from a different ear. And I want you to hear this do what you do better than you have ever done it. Whatever you're doing today, make sure it's better than how you did it yesterday. And then figure out what is the next step I need to take, one step at a time. What is the next one step forward I need to take? And if that's not within my wheelhouse to do, who do I need to do it? Build a community where you give and receive value. Where then here's the thing where people, when they see you, they're like, I know her, she does good work, I know somebody that may be interested in that. You're gonna get so much farther by just being a good person, by just treating people well, by just placing yourselves in the situations where you show up with integrity, you show up consistently. Because if I hear one more person talk about how they can't trust black businesses, I'm a loser. I'm gonna flip it on.

SPEAKER_00

Come on.

SPEAKER_03

That's not true.

SPEAKER_00

No, it's not.

SPEAKER_03

That's not true. Black businesses are just looked at with a more critical eye. Yes, yes, and so we're gonna take what they see and they're gonna see consistent, authentic, like integrity. You're gonna show up, not burnt out, not overwhelmed, not doing all the things. You are going to show up with the team. I don't care if there's a team of people who you just barter with, because I'm not saying that you need to have cash flow before you start growing your team. Your team could be people who y'all just work together. Like, hey, I know how to do this, you know how to do this. Can we do it for each other? Boom, that's your money. Yeah, that is your team. Yeah, grow from there. That's I just want to double down on that. Don't don't struggle by yourself like I did, and then have the audacity not to realize it was struggle. I'm gonna let you go. I'm gonna go knock the code.

SPEAKER_00

All right, that's that's oh I just love I love that, but I love the instruction you gave. If you if I ask you what you needed and you can't answer me, sit in that until you can answer that. Sit in that, and then stick to your core genius, because it's your core genius for a reason, no one else can do it the way you can. So stick to that and then sit in. What help do I need? What would help me right now in my business? Beautiful. We're gonna close out with asking you a couple of fun questions. All right, girl, I'm ready. All right, so the first one is if you could spend the day with anyone from any time in history, who would you choose and why?

SPEAKER_03

Okay, so I am a book theme. I love reading. When it's like, Ooh, girl, what are you what you watching right now? What are you binging? Nothing. I'm reading books. I'm I'm clearing out my candle. Okay, that's what I'm doing. Um so for me, if I could spend a a day with anybody at any point in time in history, I I this is gonna sound like I'm cheating, but I'm not. Just stay with me. I'm gonna spend it with the black women authors from the Harlem Renaissance and from times past. We just gonna be in here talking about books, just reading together. I'm talking, I want Octavia, I want Zora, I I want like Alice. Give me these people, girl. Let's sit somewhere in a room with snacks and some drinks and read some books, and let's just have a good time. We ain't gotta do nothing, we ain't gotta make nothing. Let's just let's just read and just enjoy getting away.

SPEAKER_00

That sounds beautiful. I love that. I can I can see that and feel that.

SPEAKER_03

And I can smell it. I know exactly what that room is smelling like. I know you can't see, but I did that.

SPEAKER_00

Okay, yes, I do. What's your what's your favorite product of yours that you've created?

SPEAKER_03

My favorite products are things that I've never even released. But we're gonna put it as a category. I love the fun stuff that's used for other people. Like I made, I made, I call it carpet season. You know how black folks, when they get carpet, they're gonna season that carpet real, real good and let it sit and marinate. I'm like, I love it because you'll never see it come out of me. Or the hairsprays that I make for stylists, they never come on my website. Because I just enjoy creating things that other people can then go and make. So those products that were really birthed from like, I got this crazy idea. How do we make this? And then let's figure it out, let's make some crazy stuff happen. I'm here for that. Those are my favorite products that I've made.

SPEAKER_00

I like that. I like that. Okay, what is your favorite meal?

SPEAKER_03

You sound like my son. He loves asking, What's your favorite poop? How do I have one? Anything that that gives me the itis. I am I am a good geeche girl, born and raised down in the low country in Georgia, right? So if it's gonna sound bad, listen, help nuts be mad at me later. It's okay. You smother something in some gravy, you add a piece of cornbread to the side, and we always keep a pot of rice, we always keep a pot of rice down here. So something that's gonna, I'm gonna lay down. It wasn't good for me. No, but it felt good. It felt good. So a good comfort meal cornbread. That's me. You got me. I hear you.

SPEAKER_00

I hear you. All right, and the very last one. What was your favorite childhood game?

SPEAKER_03

And it's still my favorite game. Fun fact phase 10, the card game. But let me tell you why. Why my family? So we we were raised in an intergenerational household. It was my grandma, um, aunts. At one time, we had like 13 people in this thing, and that was normal for me. Okay, so we would have Sundays. All right, y'all, bring it up front. We're going to the front to play cards. You got kids in the house, so of course they done toned it down from the spades and the Friday night fishing. They're not doing that. We're gonna play phase 10. At this time, all we had was a house phone. We would, you know, we didn't have cell phones. Are you kidding? When somebody called for you, this family time. So we would play phase 10. It was the thing, and it was uh-uh, this is a skip you. That was my version of spades growing up, right? And to this day, I have it on my phone. If I go and we do like friend get togethers, I'm pulling out a deck of phase 10 cards. I love it. Only because, not like, oh, this is the best game ever. No, because the experience was shaped early for me. Yeah, and that's that thing that makes me feel like y'all, this is what brings us together. We're gonna have a good time playing phase 10, some good, wholesome fun. Exactly. I'm gonna talk cash money trash. Okay, we're still gonna have fun, please.

SPEAKER_00

Wonderful. Well, thank you again, Amber, for being with us today. I love all the great information you shared. I love you sharing your authentic journey. We need to hear that so much. So we appreciate it.

SPEAKER_03

Thank you for having me. I appreciate this time.

SPEAKER_00

Thank you. We'll be sure to have all of your contact information in the show notes so our audience can reach out to you, check out your website and your wonderful products, and do some business with you. So I love that.

unknown

Thank you.

SPEAKER_00

All right, thank you. You've been listening to the Empower Her Business Podcast. And before you go, I want to thank you for being here. If this episode supported you, please pay it forward. You can do that by hitting the follow button, grading us five stars, leaving a comment, and sharing us with others. This is how we ensure the podcast reaches more sisters and business. Until next time, I wish you the very best of joy, health, and wealth. Anyway, I'm just gonna do that.