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Speaker 2Y'all I was in shark tank. Well, kinda what really happened was Damon. John invited me to be on one of his power talks, which he hosts on Instagram live. Damon is one of the sharks on the shark tank and I talked to him. So I just feel like I was kinda sorta three people removed by my second cousin on shark tank, kind of sorta, not really Damon chats about the reality of business, embracing your inner power and given the fight of any quality, how people can use their platforms for good and how they can make their voices heard. Being invited to join. Damon was truly an honor. One that I can't even really convey my utmost gratitude for. So in this conversation, you will hear my top tips for building an online presence, the difference between diversity and disparity and the biggest mistake people make on social media. And we also chat about a lot of other things. I can't wait for you to hear this conversation. So here it is my power talk with Damon John.
Speaker 3All right . So today is my , uh, uh, power talk and I have Jasmine star here and cayenne Karen , uh , on. And , um , I'm in , I know I'm messing up the last name, right. But I'll get to that one. All right . So I just want to , uh, you know, introduce Jasmine, start he really quick, and I'm not going to bring her on until I actually do the intro because I hate when I'm sitting there, as somebody saying my intro on , it just feels awkward. Right. But let me just read a couple of points to you and how we're going to learn from her collectively myself as well. First time talking to both of these people, but I wanted to , uh, reach out to people that I found that it were inspired myself, my staff and the world that I didn't know and , uh , get different angles on things. So Jasmine was set to attend to UCLA law school when she walked away to sit by her mother's side as her mother battled with brain cancer after her mother beat cancer and , uh, walked Jasmine down the aisle, Jasmine was struggling to follow her mother's instructions to pursue what she loved to do. She received a camera from , uh , for Christmas, from her husband and decided to pursue photography, building a brand and marketing her services along the way, check this out. She was voted as a top 10 wedding photographer in the world four years later and had our work published in several magazines , uh , became a speaker and a business strategist to create entrepreneurs , uh , uh, to create entrepreneurs as a way to entrepreneurship as a way to expand her brand. Um, and with entrepreneurs and help business owners , uh , build the foundation that they need to succeed in their dream careers. Now think about that. You just pick up a camera and you become one of the world's top wedding photographers in four years. Imagine what you could do right now while you're home. Right? Uh , she has a podcast called the Jasmine star show. I'm not even going to read that fast . She has a podcast call the Jasmine star show. Make sure you write that down, which explains how to actually turn your passion into a business and provides actionable tips and has multiple programs for current and aspiring entrepreneurs like social curator, a monthly subscription that provides photos, captions, templates, and action plans, and a path to profitability. It's really a business boot camp . All right . Adopted a baby named Luna in February with her husband, J D all right. So there you go. Now, you know who I'm bringing on and a lot of people going to be able to learn from her for barriers , different ways. And before I just got to think about this right now, she does a podcast which you can actually learn to structure your businesses. She is a photographer world. Renowned photographer did that within four years of picking up a camera , um, and she loves to teach people. So we're going to learn from her right now. Uh, let me bring her on, let me, let me find her.
Speaker 4We are here. We're here. We're ready to go. Thank you for this. I appreciate you.
Speaker 5No, no problem. I appreciate you. Great meeting you. Um, you know, I already gave people kind of your bio and talked about you and , uh, you know, I'm just gonna jump right into it because I know everybody's busy right now and they , they take this little bit of time to spend with me. So, you know , um, talk to me a little bit about how you pick up a camera and become one of the world's top wedding photographers in , uh , four years. How do you do that?
Speaker 4The same way that you sell t-shirts and the back of your car, a little hustle, a little grit, serving people well, and making sure that you're listening to what your customers want. And so serving them up ,
Speaker 5But, you know, it took me, you know, I started in 89 and it probably took me up about , uh , I don't know, I don't know , probably about nine years, so I was ever recognized. Um, and I'm not saying that when you will recognize at that point, that that was what you deem success, whether monetarily or career-wise, maybe you just really had one of those fascinating times that you shot a couple of things and you just have the eye . And then they said, okay, this is the person, but did you consider yourself successful at that point? Because that was a blink of an eye in comparison to, you know , uh , you know, people's careers,
Speaker 4You know, I mean , I've always been a big fan of having people define what success looks like for them on the outside, like money and cars and jets and zip codes back , it all look like a success. But if in the process of getting the money, the cars and the zip code, you lose the things that mean the most to you. And what meant the most to me as a daughter of an immigrant, was taking care of my family, making sure that I was still giving back to the community and showing up for the people who helped me get there in the process. Me getting awards took me away from that. I wasn't a success. I was just rich and I don't want to be rich. I want legacy. So at that point in my career, it was like, it felt good that other people saw what I was doing, but I didn't feel any more or less successful. And so I think that right now, wherever people aren't, COBIT not COVID civil unrest, no civil unrest, having an education, having money or not. How do you define your success so that whatever else people are saying negative or positive, it doesn't dissuade you from the thing that you've been called to do.
Speaker 5So if you were to, at that point in your life, when you were deemed of success, if you had to write your obituary, would you have been happy write in your obituary?
Speaker 4Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. But so many of us have the capabilities of our obituary could be written by us and it's determined by the actions we take, not just for ourselves, but for others. And at that point in my career, and I can still say the same today is I gave more than I took. And I think that's the legacy I want going before me as a human, but also as a business owner ,
Speaker 5A lot of people right now. And I love to hear the fact that, you know, how you so much into giving. Um , a lot of people right now are trying to find different ways to communicate and define themselves because right now they're at home or they have been at home and they're finding that, you know, your online presence is very, very important. So definitely photography, but , but your existence online is important because people could take advantage of something right now, the fact that if they're trying to go out and raise capital or get jobs, something like that, you don't have to fly all around the world. You can catch everybody on zoom. Now, when , before it would take you forever to get ahold of people, what is, how, how do people , uh, you know, what are the keys you think it is to building an online presence that works in your best interest?
Speaker 4I think regardless of where we are in human history, there's never been a better time to build a business. We have never had accessibility. Do you know that five years ago, Damon , 10 years ago, you and I could never have this conversation, but the fact that I just slide into your dams and ask a question, the fact that we can create a podcast, the fact that we can create content, there's never been a better time. So how then do you create a personal brand? How do you stick out in a sea of entrepreneurs, photographers, graphic designers, or dog walkers? What you do is you create helpful content, not for a million people for one person. Is that when you put yourself in the shoes of your dream customer and you think, what is he struggling with? What does she want? What problems can I solve? What can I give them that they didn't know? They wanted lo and behold, that one person turns into two. And the two turns into 20 and the 20 turns into 20,000. There's no magic code. There's no red pill. It's doing the work and serving people before they even know they needed the New York salary.
Speaker 5I don't I've , uh,
Speaker 4I've heard that in various ways, but never hit home just like that. You know? Cause people are so busy. People are so busy trying to , um , serve everybody and they go, well, if I only go to this, this person, then I'm excluding other people. Um, but you're not saying you're excluding other people. You're saying this is who you resonate with. This is who you feel that you can really help. And in doing that, you'll find there's way more people. I keep saying we have more in common than we have , uh , you know , uh , apart . Um, so yeah, I liked that. I liked that. So do you look at that person, as you saying, I wish somebody would have helped me. This is me. And this is what I love of you. Look at that person as somebody who is a customer that you can serve, that you didn't understand their needs necessarily. And once you opened up and understood their needs, you said , wait a minute, this is, this is the most valuable thing I can give that person. You know, it , it's not a right or wrong. Some entrepreneurs are serving a Virgin or an iteration of themselves. And some entrepreneurs are serving entirely different demographic. I know the person I'm serving. She and I wouldn't be friends. We would be friendly. And I know her so well that even though she's white and she lives in Manhattan beach and she drives a range Rover and she has two sons, three and five years old. And her husband is a lawyer. Her daddy is a goat farmer at Ohio , California. And that's where she learned the craft of making her own artists and goods so that she could sell them in farmer's markets, in Southern California until the day that she gets contacted by an anthropology buyer. And this person says, you know what? I think that your stuff belongs in our stores. And then at that point in time that she realizes I don't have a hobby anymore. I have a business. Now I need the tools and resources. And that is how our paths intersect. I now know that I have black, white purple, Asian, Haitian Croatian followers, and members of what it is that I do, but I create content for that person because if it resonates with her and I serve her well, and I help her out of her struggle is going to resonate with other people. I think of one and certainly
Speaker 5Very powerful stuff. I liked that we wouldn't necessarily be friends , but we're definitely going to be friendly. I like that. I like that.
Speaker 4To be honest, even like I'm a girl from the hood, I'm a daughter of an immigrant. I don't have very much in common with the people I serve. That's just facts for so long. I wanted to transcend socioeconomic barriers. And I didn't know what it was like on the other side of the white picket fence. I didn't know what it was like in the country clubs. I didn't know what it was like in the warehouse or the white house. And in the 21st century handed me the internet on a golden platter. So now when you make references to Maserati and Christian Louis Vuitton , and you're out there, if you leave a ton and I didn't know what any of those stuff meant, I Google it. I find out what are you shopping? What do you do? What do you need? I'm going to position my business to serve you well. So I, even though I've had a long time, was never in the luxury market at the cert the luxury market there then became a big shift in my business and who I serve.
Speaker 5So as businesses right now, dealing with a crazy climate, how do they improve their public communication? Uh, you know, to answer exactly what you're saying, they may say, cause I've gotten, so I must have had over 50 CEOs and or people of that level call me and say, I just didn't know. And I thought I was doing what I could and we gave in this area and we did this and this and that, but I got to improve the communication, but I don't want to be fake. I , you know what I mean? I want to serve more because this is ridiculous. And if I serve more, I'll help create change. But how do people do what you're saying now? Uh , the business that you may not. I mean, listen, if we all had the same, all figured out, we wouldn't all be here. Right? Uh, how do you , how do you, how do you think , uh , they can improve their public communication people, whether it's small businesses or big businesses, what are some tips if they're not already doing so?
Speaker 4So first and foremost, I will say that I am first a student . I do not have the answers nor do I pretend that I have the next clear path. What I have kids when I can say is that I have listened so intently. And in the past week, in the past month, the thing that I have discovered is that even though I love diversity, I love diversity with my members. I love diversity on my team. I looked at her seat in my friends by me , celebrating diversity. I'm happy with that. But what I wasn't doing was acknowledging the disparity. There's a difference between diversity and disparity. And if I don't have the chutzpah, if I don't have the ability to come out and say, I know it is harder for some people to build business for some people to get along for some people to rent a space on main street USA. If I don't acknowledge that, then anything I say after that is going to be null and void. How do you start having conversations? You first admit that you don't know what you don't know. And then you make yourself open and say, whatever you want to tell me, I'm going to be a humble student. I want to hear from you. And then what I want to do is I want to hold up a mirror and say, this business is for everybody's color and I want to serve you well. But if you don't see, seeing in my business, how can I see you in a different way first ask then respond because it's going to look different for every business.
Speaker 5And does the , you know, almost kind of like you said, listen, I, you know, they , they handle you the internet on a golden platter. And prior to that, you didn't know what a Maserati or various other things are. So you look them up just like we all look up everything , uh, you know, do do business owners. I mean, people in general who really care , listen , if you happen to be a racist, you happen to be racist. You couldn't care less. That's up to you. And I don't think it's right, but it is what it is. But the people wanting to make change right now who don't want to just, you know, gloss over. Do they look it up? Look at why. Because a lot of times I think, you know, people have this assumption the way that other act and do things like that. Um, and I had in my company, I had the conversation. I, and I suggest all CEO do this because I've been, I've been doing this with a lot of CEOs and their companies. First of all, go into , into your company and say, let's put it on a table. Let's ask all the, the uncomfortable question is sometimes uncomfortable. Questions are people who are not of one color saying, Well, we always thought that you guys liked to have baggy pants and wrap and that crazy. And we just thought, that's you. And you know , they may have another person of color right next to them who was a very close friend. And when they see other people on TV getting arrested, everybody else, they go, Oh, but that's those people, your really cool, not realizing their closest friend right here has, when they're at work. They don't know their 16 year old son is coming home. You know, when they're in the streets because they're just kids doing what they normally do. And that they're both one in the same. You you're, you're, you're trying to separate people when you don't realize that they're there. There's people that are having stereotypes when no, Holy crap, the person sit right next to me that I love to death. That is one of the smartest people that I've ever met. I'm thinking that all the other people that get arrested do this and that are just ignorant. Well , no, it's not. It was just a kid driving in a car. Her good son was driving in the car, you know, like, Whoa , there's a lot of problems and questions that people don't have. And how do you look that up or not? Have you, what's the first step for people to look that up and say, before I engage in these conversations, let me look up and find out that,
Speaker 6Oh ,
Speaker 5A young African American male with a $600 worth of marijuana could potentially go to jail for 10 years when somebody who's not necessarily that color may get a slap on the wrist. Uh , there's more drugs being sold and pushed in these better colleges. But the cops don't go to those better colleges and lock people up. But yet they go to these other schools here and lock people up for a little bag of this, a little bag of that. Uh, you know, so, so, so when do people start to educate themselves on those things, to then be able to have these conversations?
Speaker 4I feel like there are big steps and there are micro steps, a big step that you could take right now go to Amazon. The book is called white fragility. All it does is teach people who are not black, how to talk about racism without making a thing. How then can I approach? Secondly, if you have five minutes, you can go to any social platform, any single one. And if you were to write , I'm looking for great resources or support on how I can learn more about how to navigate race in America, you will get more than an abundance. Thirdly, it's to acknowledge that these conversations should never be said in time. Right now we're highlighting it . It's on the forefront of our minds two months from now. I want us to be talking about the same way at lunch last week with my nephew, who black, we had to teach him painstakingly what it meant for him to raise his hand. He's 12 years old and we had to walk you through baby. What do you say if you're pulled over, riding your bike, what do you say? And we had to say it again and again and again, because she's not looked at the same way as his cousin, who's Brown. I don't want it that conversation with him, but we will continue to have that conversation. And until they let my nephew, you and your daughter, and my daughter can all get home with equal proportion and equal safety. I'm gonna use my mouth until somebody says I have to stop. And when they tell me to stop, I'm still gonna raise my voice until we get the equality that every American and business owner deserves.
Speaker 5Yeah. And I, you know, and I w I want to give people, and I want to be very honest about stuff. Like, think about it like this, the women's movement started in the women's lives , started in 1960s, right? It took us to wait all the way, all the way til a Harvey Weinstein, 60 years later to finally get women to have their day in court and legislation be changed . And this will be at the forefront. Now, everybody in their life, everybody here, and everybody in the world has a woman in their life because they probably wouldn't be on this planet. If there wasn't a woman in their life who gave birth to her, but parts of them, but they most likely have a wife, a daughter, you know , whatever the case is. And so nobody can say, I don't have a woman in my life and think about how long it took for us and it's not done, but how long it took for us to finally get to the point where, you know, women can actually maybe have a day , a quarter , people are, are up to speed and say, this is a problem. Now not everybody has a person of color in their life, right? Not every person can relate to that. And I , I do , you know, and , uh, there's a bigger challenges . So that's why I'm saying that people need to have a , you know, more of a step up in that. So , so I , I think I love touching the point with , what's the name of the book? White
Speaker 4I , white fragility,
Speaker 5White fragility, fragility. Fragile. Okay. All right . I want another, I got another question for you. Biggest mistake with online strategies.
Speaker 4Oh, people use their accounts to talk about them and their business. Instead of using their accounts to ask how their business can serve others. If, what if you're wondering, why am I not getting engagement? David has all these people commenting and leaving comments. How's he getting that? What is he doing? Well, Damon has found a way to create content that serves his audience really well. If all you're using is your Instagram account is to say, buy my thing, buy my thing. My thing is on sale. My theme comes in green. Everybody's going to tune you out because you're like QVC on Instagram. What you have to do is create conversation . So you could talk about your business without having to sell your business. And when you talk about your business and you serve people, guess what? The sales then come to you.
Speaker 5So are you saying that I can't, you know, that social media is just another form of communication and that if I going to work with you or going to dinner with you and kept talking about myself the whole time, are you telling me that you would tune me out and maybe go to dinner or talk to somebody else who may say, how are you doing today? How can I help you? You know what? You look beautiful? You know what, why don't we go do this? Because I think your great idea is that what you're trying to tell everybody, because a lot of people overthink this shit.
Speaker 4No, it is a hundred percent. If you're not treating social media as something social, if you're looking at social media for sales, I'm going to encourage you to think of social media for branding brand. Your brand is what people say about you. When you walk out of the room, that's what Instagram should be doing. It should be creating relationships so much so that I find it irresistible to bring out my credit card and give it to you. Cause I'm like, I like you. I believe you were the person to get me to where I want to go or give me the results that I'm going to be investing with you. If I don't show you who I am, I don't deserve your credit card. And the reason why people don't have sales right now is because they're more concerned to talk about themselves instead, talk about what they should be doing for their customers.
Speaker 5I love that point. All right, I got, I got one last point because you , uh, uh, you know, or are so skilled with photography and images. And we are in of course, a world of images. What are some tips? Because I've, I've heard that listen, you know, don't do overproduced stuff because then people think it's like, you know, you put too much work into it. Then I hear a , well, that looks crappy your photography on it. Or like, so again , it got gotta be to your brand. I'm sure, but give us some simple tips that my , uh, you know, our family right now watching can, can, can , uh, you know, use themselves
Speaker 4Well, even you hit it, right? It's every business that's going to run its own gamut . However, quickest photo tip that you can change your photos exactly right after this life . Number one, use natural light. Make sure that when you take yourself or when you take a photo of your facing a door or a window that light's going to be the most complimentary. Secondly, it's called the rule of thirds. Make sure when you take a photo, avoid things being right in the center, pop it up top or having a little cause visually it's an interesting guy . And lastly , don't be afraid to crop cropping. A photo is like you taking just one second to make the flow a little tiny bit smaller to make it more visually appealing. So light rule of thirds and give it a good crop.
Speaker 5All right . So light . So I went to film school for a little while, just so I could direct videos. And at my best, I'm a level F maybe a guy, but I remembered I remembered our director, but I remember them teaching. You have your key, light, your filter, and there's always motivation for the light. Cause you have to think, why is the light coming? What is the motivation for this light? And so you're saying if you're doing something natural light is great, but what if you want to have the motivation of light be moody and you want to just have on your face? Is that, is that good as well? I mean, do you think there's motivation for light
Speaker 4100% ? And here's the thing, Dana , it matter what you say. It doesn't matter what I say. If you're creating a product where your customer appreciates moody and a bucket of writing you, do you, if it gets just one line , but that one, like we're both in a customer, slap yourself up, you convert it to a sale. What is the point of having a most beautiful photography? If you're not actually moving the needle in your business, what you need to do is serve and do it extraordinarily. Well,
Speaker 5All right . The thirds . I didn't know that . So, so you're saying that in this square right here, we're at it to be here or here?
Speaker 4Yes. So right now as you want . Yeah, you are . Yes. Yes. Even if you're in the upper third. Exactly. That right . Well , maybe not that close. Maybe not that maybe make another close your eyes to too , but maybe that close. So listen, David , you're outside. I think your baby girl's swimming. No, you keep her yelling. You keep her yelling. She's watching her daddy do what he does. You, they yell baby. Your daddy. Look at her . Okay. Later after you get on a flight , go see baby girl in the pool when she's floating in the pool. But I want you to just hold your camera above her. And I want you to put baby girl in the upper third or in the lower third and then your , the second picture. And you're going to put her in the middle. Then I want demon to look at picture number one. And number two, I'm going to tell you, David, my photo is going to be better. The big girl in the center, that's called the rule of thirds. You're welcome.
Speaker 5All right . I like that. Listen. I think we've learned a lot. I I've certainly learned a lot. I've got a couple of books ago too . I got to Google a couple of things on , um , uh , Amazon. I got a , uh, tell baby, be quiet. Next time I'm recording. I gotta go to the third. I want to make sure that , um , cause I wanna , I want to blast it out instead of you blessing now. So the Jasmine star show , uh , is your podcast, right? And you've got a monthly subscription that provides photos , uh , and caption templates.
Speaker 4Yeah. We teach people how to talk on social.
Speaker 5Okay. And action plans , uh , and, and a PA path to profitability. Uh , and , uh , is a business boot camp you have, right?
Speaker 4Yes. Yes we do.
Speaker 5All right . And uh , really, so really I really do appreciate this time. I mean, you know, Maury told me that you were a firecracker and I'm really excited right now. You got me amped. So , uh , I appreciate you spending time with me and my family.
Speaker 4Thank you . Thank you . I appreciate you stay healthy. I appreciate it. Have a good one. All right . You too. Bye. Bye
Speaker 2Friend conversations like this are so important right now having open honest dialogue is the only way we will ever move past fear and uncertainty. So my brilliant friend, I hope this encourages you to have those conversations and make the decision to lean into discomfort so you can grow personally and professionally. If you loved this conversation between me and Dave and John, would you please screenshot this episode and throw it up on your Instagram story and show us a little love. You can tag me at Jasmine star and Damon at the shark Damon, because I know we'd love to connect with you. I hope to see you on another Instagram live soon and on a future podcast. Bye friend.
Speaker 1[inaudible] .