Blog
The DMCA Takedown Notice: How to Combat Copycats Online
As a copyright owner, you can use something called the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown notice to take action against copycats, even if your copyright isn't registered. *Keep in mind that you don't own a copyright...
How I start each morning with a low-key morning routine
Morning routines are awesome, but trying to recreate the habits of people like Oprah, Warren Buffett and others is STRESSFUL. On the morning routine spectrum, I'm somewhere in the middle. I want one, but I don't have the kind of life the...
#37: Six Lessons from Black Women Entrepreneurs
The world seems to be on fire right now, but black women entrepreneurs are killing the game right now. From having million-dollar-months, to creating anti-racist movements, to landing huge brand deals, the wins just keep coming and I love to see it. Black women like...
Build a Successful Business by Focusing on Solving Problems
The most successful businesses focus on solving a problem and being of service to others. Check out this video for why you need to shift your business's focus from me me me to solving other people's problems.
#36: How to create your brand identity AND support anti-racism, with branding expert Jess Avolio
Creating a public facing brand in this era of cancel culture, performative allyship, and crowdsourced outrage can be tough. It's hard to know when to speak up vs. stay silent, stay in your lane vs. veer into another one, and engage vs. ignore. Long gone are the days...
How to Build a Personal Brand and Stand Out in Business
Wondering how to stand out in your crowded field, especially against larger, more well-established businesses and entrepreneurs? Here are the 3 questions you need to ask yourself so that you start your new business in a way that attracts...
#35: How to build a movement and change the world while growing your own brand, with #FreeTheHair founder Wendy Greene
I love my natural hair. I stopped using chemical relaxants in 2007, did the big chop in 2008, and haven't looked back since! As is common with many black women, the natural hair journey is a process that can be an emotional roller coaster because of societal norms...
#34: How to create content that skyrockets your brand’s growth with Miles Beckler
If you cringe when you: listen to an interview you gave, re-read an article you wrote, or watch an interview you gave, you know how hard it can be stay consistent when putting yourself out there. ESPECIALLY online. Thankfully, entrepreneur and content-creator...
The podcast and vlogging equipment I’m using in the COVID-19 era
Living during the age of COVID-19, protests, and a major global recession has been...I don't even know what. We are working from home, teaching from home, and staying at home #atthesamedamntime. There are a lot of unanswered questions right now about our jobs, our...
#33: Madam C.J. Walker, entrepreneurship, and connecting your business to social justice, with A’Lelia Bundles
As a child, my parents taught my siblings and me about Black history by any means necessary--from regular Eyes on The Prize viewings and museum visits to Black history coloring books. I annoyed more than a few teachers because I was constantly correcting them about my...
#32: How your business can navigate these times of social unrest and take a stand
I know I'm not the only one who is on an emotional roller coaster right now. Everything seems to be on fire with no real end in sight. It's hard to know how to build your brand and business while we seem to be fighting two catastrophic series of events -- the COVID-19...
What you can do right now: DO GOOD. And if you aren’t black, PULL UP.
Y'all. I'm tired. This week has been hard AF. Basically, Ice Cube said it best on Twitter.It is impossible to carry on with business as usual. To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time. - James Baldwin I am the...
#31: From Solopreneur to Hiring a Team with startup founder Harold Hughes
When you're in the early stages, it might be hard to think about hiring lots of new 40, 50, or 60 hour per week employees. But, as your business grows, it will become necessary to get some help. You're only one person with 24 hours in a day, and at some point wearing...
#30: How to get your startup acquired by a Fortune 500 company, with Craig Walker
The world of startups and acquisitions seems like another universe for many people. You read about Facebook buying the GIF company GIPHY for $400 million and wonder how in the world an entrepreneur goes from working on an idea at their kitchen counter to getting an...
#29: Where to begin with starting a business when you don’t know where to start
On this Thursday of thoughts, I received a really interesting and compelling question about where someone (who works full-time) can start with starting their business. I took a winding road with this answer, because I have truly been in the position of wanting to...
#28: How to get through the early side hustle stages, with Artie Freeman
What are the biggest fears and frustrations of new side hustle business owners? Artie Freeman, the founder of Ferguson and Freeman Affiliated Apparel, an early stage apparel company, lays his concerns on the table in this episode of The Shontavia Show. From working...
#27: From broke and homeless to billionaire investors: How to diversify Silicon Valley with Arlan Hamilton
In this episode of The Shontavia Show, I speak with Arlan Hamilton, an exceptional venture capitalist and the author of It's About Damn Time: How to Turn Being Underestimated into Your Greatest Advantage. Arlan is the Founder and Managing Partner of Backstage Capital,...
#26: How to stop overthinking and second-guessing yourself when building your brand
Random fact: An article I wrote was recorded into audio by the Smithsonian. It really tripped me out when they reached out to get permission to do it, because I knew how far I had come. Less than a year prior, I had just started writing publicly to build my brand....
#25: Excuses that keep you from starting your business and the ONE RULE that can eliminate them
"I don't have enough TIME to make this happen." "I don't have enough money to start a business." "I don't know all the steps I need to take to do this right." "Who would even buy anything from me anyway?" Is this you? Making aaalllll of the excuses to sabotage your...
#24: How to build a brand internally at work (especially at a law firm)
I used to believe that all people just went to work and came home for 5 days out of the week and then did whatever they did on the weekends. I didn't believe it was necessary to build connections or network and I wasn't really trying to do either. But then I started...
#23: Answering all of your intellectual property questions with Nichole Hayden, law firm partner
When it comes to starting a business, intellectual property (typically patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets) can seem like an expensive thing to be taken care of *later.* There are so many steps, process, discussions, and emails that need to happen that...
The DMCA Takedown Notice: How to Combat Copycats Online
As a copyright owner, you can use something called the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown notice to take action against copycats, even if your copyright isn't registered. *Keep in mind that you don't own a copyright...
How I start each morning with a low-key morning routine
Morning routines are awesome, but trying to recreate the habits of people like Oprah, Warren Buffett and others is STRESSFUL. On the morning routine spectrum, I'm somewhere in the middle. I want one, but I don't have the kind of life the...
#37: Six Lessons from Black Women Entrepreneurs
The world seems to be on fire right now, but black women entrepreneurs are killing the game right now. From having million-dollar-months, to creating anti-racist movements, to landing huge brand deals, the wins just keep coming and I love to see it. Black women like...
Build a Successful Business by Focusing on Solving Problems
The most successful businesses focus on solving a problem and being of service to others. Check out this video for why you need to shift your business's focus from me me me to solving other people's problems.
#36: How to create your brand identity AND support anti-racism, with branding expert Jess Avolio
Creating a public facing brand in this era of cancel culture, performative allyship, and crowdsourced outrage can be tough. It's hard to know when to speak up vs. stay silent, stay in your lane vs. veer into another one, and engage vs. ignore. Long gone are the days...
How to Build a Personal Brand and Stand Out in Business
Wondering how to stand out in your crowded field, especially against larger, more well-established businesses and entrepreneurs? Here are the 3 questions you need to ask yourself so that you start your new business in a way that attracts...
#35: How to build a movement and change the world while growing your own brand, with #FreeTheHair founder Wendy Greene
I love my natural hair. I stopped using chemical relaxants in 2007, did the big chop in 2008, and haven't looked back since! As is common with many black women, the natural hair journey is a process that can be an emotional roller coaster because of societal norms...
#34: How to create content that skyrockets your brand’s growth with Miles Beckler
If you cringe when you: listen to an interview you gave, re-read an article you wrote, or watch an interview you gave, you know how hard it can be stay consistent when putting yourself out there. ESPECIALLY online. Thankfully, entrepreneur and content-creator...
The podcast and vlogging equipment I’m using in the COVID-19 era
Living during the age of COVID-19, protests, and a major global recession has been...I don't even know what. We are working from home, teaching from home, and staying at home #atthesamedamntime. There are a lot of unanswered questions right now about our jobs, our...
#33: Madam C.J. Walker, entrepreneurship, and connecting your business to social justice, with A’Lelia Bundles
As a child, my parents taught my siblings and me about Black history by any means necessary--from regular Eyes on The Prize viewings and museum visits to Black history coloring books. I annoyed more than a few teachers because I was constantly correcting them about my...
#32: How your business can navigate these times of social unrest and take a stand
I know I'm not the only one who is on an emotional roller coaster right now. Everything seems to be on fire with no real end in sight. It's hard to know how to build your brand and business while we seem to be fighting two catastrophic series of events -- the COVID-19...
What you can do right now: DO GOOD. And if you aren’t black, PULL UP.
Y'all. I'm tired. This week has been hard AF. Basically, Ice Cube said it best on Twitter.It is impossible to carry on with business as usual. To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time. - James Baldwin I am the...
#31: From Solopreneur to Hiring a Team with startup founder Harold Hughes
When you're in the early stages, it might be hard to think about hiring lots of new 40, 50, or 60 hour per week employees. But, as your business grows, it will become necessary to get some help. You're only one person with 24 hours in a day, and at some point wearing...
#30: How to get your startup acquired by a Fortune 500 company, with Craig Walker
The world of startups and acquisitions seems like another universe for many people. You read about Facebook buying the GIF company GIPHY for $400 million and wonder how in the world an entrepreneur goes from working on an idea at their kitchen counter to getting an...
#29: Where to begin with starting a business when you don’t know where to start
On this Thursday of thoughts, I received a really interesting and compelling question about where someone (who works full-time) can start with starting their business. I took a winding road with this answer, because I have truly been in the position of wanting to...
#28: How to get through the early side hustle stages, with Artie Freeman
What are the biggest fears and frustrations of new side hustle business owners? Artie Freeman, the founder of Ferguson and Freeman Affiliated Apparel, an early stage apparel company, lays his concerns on the table in this episode of The Shontavia Show. From working...
#27: From broke and homeless to billionaire investors: How to diversify Silicon Valley with Arlan Hamilton
In this episode of The Shontavia Show, I speak with Arlan Hamilton, an exceptional venture capitalist and the author of It's About Damn Time: How to Turn Being Underestimated into Your Greatest Advantage. Arlan is the Founder and Managing Partner of Backstage Capital,...
#26: How to stop overthinking and second-guessing yourself when building your brand
Random fact: An article I wrote was recorded into audio by the Smithsonian. It really tripped me out when they reached out to get permission to do it, because I knew how far I had come. Less than a year prior, I had just started writing publicly to build my brand....
#25: Excuses that keep you from starting your business and the ONE RULE that can eliminate them
"I don't have enough TIME to make this happen." "I don't have enough money to start a business." "I don't know all the steps I need to take to do this right." "Who would even buy anything from me anyway?" Is this you? Making aaalllll of the excuses to sabotage your...
#24: How to build a brand internally at work (especially at a law firm)
I used to believe that all people just went to work and came home for 5 days out of the week and then did whatever they did on the weekends. I didn't believe it was necessary to build connections or network and I wasn't really trying to do either. But then I started...
#23: Answering all of your intellectual property questions with Nichole Hayden, law firm partner
When it comes to starting a business, intellectual property (typically patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets) can seem like an expensive thing to be taken care of *later.* There are so many steps, process, discussions, and emails that need to happen that...