Join our community, Please Hustle Responsibly!

Episodes

Feb. 14, 2023

Incorporating Black Joy and Community in Table Top Game Designs

Using language that’s accessible and inviting to anyone, Omari Akil of Colorway Game Labs has successfully been able to highlight aspects of Black culture through board games. A graphic designer and creative by trade, Omari b...

Listen to the Episode
Feb. 7, 2023

Gain the Confidence to Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking at Work

A majority of the general population fears public speaking. Where does the trauma of public speaking stem from? Kenia Thompson has made it her mission to demystify public speaking to help people gain confidence in sharing the...

Listen to the Episode
Jan. 31, 2023

Where Can You Find Local Healthy Food? Where Soul Music Meets Soul Fo…

How can you learn if you're hungry?" Margo Newkirk, one half of the dynamic duo that is Blend of Soul, asked this during our conversation. Margo Newkirk and Kiera Gardner set out to make healthy smoothies accessible to unders...

Listen to the Episode
Jan. 24, 2023

Will $10K/ Month Make You Happy? How to Define Your Revenue Goals

What do you truly want your life to look like? This important question is the driving force behind how to define your sales goals based on the life you want to lead. Elyse Archer is a sales coach, speaker, and consultant that...

Listen to the Episode
Jan. 17, 2023

Can Venture Capital Bridge the Wealth Gap?

With over 70 years of collective living experience in the Triangle, Tom and Keith have developed a lot of relationships in the local entrepreneurial ecosystem. I sat down with the founders of Resilient Ventures to talk about ...

Listen to the Episode
Jan. 10, 2023

From PhD in a STEM Field to PBS | Building a Media Business

Dr. Nehemiah Mabry began STEMedia while pursuing his PhD in engineering. During his transition from full-time engineer to full-time digital agency owner, he talks about the mental and emotional parts of the job being the hard...

Listen to the Episode
Jan. 3, 2023

More than an Athlete | How to Build a Business through Mental Toughne…

Wells Thompson began his journey to co-founding Soccer Resilience after a 9 year career as a professional athlete. Making the transition from athlete to business leader was a hard and necessary change, and luckily, Wells didn...

Listen to the Episode
Oct. 18, 2022

DEI Consultant Helps You Improve Your Company Culture

What should a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion executive add to company culture? I asked Carolyn Rhodes while sitting at the Durham Bottling Co. to give me her opinion on the matter. With career experience in human resources,...

Listen to the Episode
Oct. 11, 2022

Serial Entrepreneur Shares Empowering Advice for Women Leaders

I sat down with Joye Speight at American Underground to talk about all things event planning. When you build a business around making others feel special it can be hard to remember to make time for yourself. Entrepreneurship ...

Listen to the Episode
Oct. 4, 2022

Growing the Vibrant Community You Want to See

What's your favorite local business in Durham? Think about how many unique places you could discover by asking this question. Sheila Amir started The Bulls of Durham out of complete curiosity. We talked about her perspective ...

Listen to the Episode
Aug. 9, 2022

Divest, Invest, and Mutual Aid | Affordable Housing Development

I sat down with Topher Thomas, the founder of Coram Houses, at the Durham Bottling Co. to talk about his venture into building affordable housing units in his community (and backyard!). What started as an itch to his curiosit...

Listen to the Episode
Aug. 2, 2022

How Nonprofit Organizations can Scale Impact through Transparency

I sat down with the founder of we are, Dr. Ronda Taylor-Bullock, at the Durham Bottling Co. As the executive director of a nonprofit, she has her own definition of what it means to "scale" or grow a nonprofit. We also talked ...

Listen to the Episode
July 26, 2022

How to Reverse Engineer your Dream Business Idea

I sat down with the co-founders of Rofhiwa Book Cafe at the Durham Bottling Co to talk about their journey to co-founding their community-centered bookstore. They shared with me their partnership dynamic, the importance of or...

Listen to the Episode
July 19, 2022

Developing the Entrepreneur Mindset to Find Your ROAR

I sat down with Dionne McGee at the Durham Bottling Co. to talk about her journey from being an intrapreneur to a multi-hyphenate entrepreneur. As the founder of DG McGee Enterprises, she is here to help you find your ROAR. S...

Listen to the Episode
July 12, 2022

Finding the Right Fit as a Franchise Business Owner

Efrem Yates is the first franchise owner I've had on the show. He's the owner of Your Pie and has learned a lot from his experience buying and building an existing business. We talked about hiring for fit vs. skillset, the co...

Listen to the Episode
July 5, 2022

Designing a Creative Business for Social Impact and Sustainability

I sat down with Rebekah Miel, the founder of Miel Design Studio, at the Durham Bottling Co. to learn all the secrets she learned from being a full-time designer and social enterprise owner for almost 20 years. We discussed al...

Listen to the Episode
June 15, 2022

Community Storytelling | Using Literary and Visual Arts to Celebrate …

I sat down with Courtney Napier of Black Oak Society at the Durham Bottling Co. Her digital magazine and blog have one mission: giving Black Raleigh her flowers. With her business fittingly named after the City of Oaks, Court...

Listen to the Episode
June 7, 2022

Creative R&D - How to package and market your unique value proposition

I sat down with Jes Averhart, the creator of the Reinvention Road Trip, at the Durham Bottling Co. When she's not podcasting or being a CEO, she's helping women identify critical life moments that are key to empowering them o...

Listen to the Episode
May 17, 2022

Strong Community Relationships are Key to Business Success

I sat down with Raleigh-based CPA Faith Bynum Patterson at the Durham Bottling Co. We discussed how her college experience helped shape her career as an entrepreneur, how relationships with her peers and professors created a ...

Listen to the Episode
May 10, 2022

How Music Artists Can Thrive in the Creator Economy

Azul is a music artist based in Raleigh, North Carolina. We sat down at the Durham Bottling Co. to discuss how we all have overlapping identities, how music artists are combatting queer erasure, what you need to be a successf...

Listen to the Episode
May 3, 2022

Hard Conversations for Early Stage Social Entrepreneurs

I sat down with Anne-Claire Broughton, the founder of Broughton Consulting, at the Durham Bottling Co to unpack her career as a social entrepreneur and nonprofit leader. We talked about employee ownership, building a business...

Listen to the Episode
April 26, 2022

The Pros and Cons of Buying an Existing Creative Business

Amie Thompson is the CEO of Creative Allies, a digital marketing company based in North Carolina. We sat down at the Durham Bottling Co. to talk about her experience buying an existing service-based creative business, buildin...

Listen to the Episode
April 19, 2022

Grow Your Creative Platform and Partnerships Through Attending Confer…

I sat down with Danae Edmonds, the founder of Aspiring Co, at the Durham Bottling Co. She's an incredible designer building a media agency featuring stories of womxn and nonbinary folx. We talked about creative partnerships, ...

Listen to the Episode
April 12, 2022

Podcast Marketing Won't Go Viral. Should you have one?

I sat down with Jason Gillikan and Cee Cee Huffman of Earfluence at the Durham Bottling Co. They produce a podcast for themselves and for their clients. We talked about podcast monetization, virality vs. value, and the impact...

Listen to the Episode