February 14, 2023
On SHE-EOs, Support Systems and Savings
Itβs Fearless February, Black History Month, and Library Loverβs Month.
And it kicked off with a BANG, as our very own Beyonce Knowles-Carter stole the show by announcing her Renaissance Tour.
Itβs like she heard my FOMO over her Dubai performance and was like βFINE HERE!β But lemme tell you something right now. My savings plan said βLemme come and be goingβ (shoutout to Nigerians and our sometimes nonsensical sayings) because Iβm about to play the Hunger Games with the rest of the world to try to be in that building π©.
Iβm also excited because itβs 3 months out from the release of my first childrenβs book Little Troublemaker Makes a Mess so itβs go time!
I feel like 2023 just started for real for real on February.
For now, letβs jump into whatβs on my mind…
Rant
Girlifying our job titles are unnecessary.
We remember when βGirlbossβ was a massive brand. Much respect to Sophia Amuruso for what she created. Much respect. But I believe folks started remixing job titles for women that I find slightly othering for us.
All thatβs to say, don’t call me a SHE-EO. Or sispreneur. Or whatever it is that leads with my gender before it talks about the work I do. Donβt get me wrong. I am proud about all the aspects of myself, including my femininity, but I find it odd when we make job titles feminine unnecessarily. I find it infantilizing.
We ainβt out here calling men Boyboss or HE-EO π(but maybe we should be, to troll them). Furthermore, it makes the default of leadership MALE. To have to qualify the title when youβre a woman says the regular title is automatically male and Iβm not for it. It perpetuates the notion that to be a leader is to be masculine, so anyone who isnβt has to state their case.
Iβm an entrepreneur. A CEO. Leader of a whole media company. Donβt qualify my titles, fam.
So yeah, not here for it.
But lemme tell you what I AM here forβ¦
Reflection
Iβm a huge fan of Black people unabashedly practicing nepotism.
I have a 20-year old niece (Dejah) who Iβm trying to teach the things I wish I knew growing up. In fact, Dejah is on the dedication page of Rising Troublemaker: A Fear-Fighter Manual for Teens because I wrote that book with hopes that sheβd be able to read it and find out so much that I didnβt know til I was in my late 20s. I wanted her and my other nieces and nephews to know what would have made my journey into adulthood and into success easier.
So the other day, she told me sheβs looking for an internship and I sent her a link to one that came across my LinkedIn. I told her to let me know if sheβs interested, and I can help her with her application. A few days later, I followed up with her about it and she tells me βOh I already applied to it.β
This was me:
Dejah: What?
Me: Remember I told you Iβd help you with the app if you wanted the internship.
Her: Oh. I just figured I would turn it in quickly.
It then turned into a life lesson. I explained to my beloved niece that I wanted to see her application and help her with it so it reflected the best of her, and I can also possibly reach out to someone in my network who is at the company to make sure eyes get on her application. I canβt promise that sheβd get the internship, but I can at least TRY to make sure her application doesnβt end up at the bottom of the pile.
Her: Sooo I’d be a nepo-niece?
Me: That’s right! Lean into it!
Listen, not everybody can be CEOβ¦ But thatβs never stopped a certain group of folks before. And frankly, itβs time we level the playing field. It is Black History Month, so what better time to start than now?
As much as weβd like to think the world is a meritocracy, it isnβt. And nepotism makes it go round. And that is what white folks have done for millenia without shame: make the calls to advance someone in their family or network.
I told Dejah: βYou have a village. You are the member of a village of people who love you, believe in you and want you to win. Let the village help you. Also, you have me. And I have a lot of connections. And guess what? A lot of the kids who will be vying for that same internship will have nepotism on their side. Someone reviewed their resume for them. Someone helped them think through their answers. Someone made a phone call for them. You donβt have to do it alone.β
My niece, a little Black girl from Chicago, who is smart and thoughtful and kind, deserves an easier path than I had. She deserves the hook up. Guilt free. I donβt want her to struggle and strive and hit walls in the same ways I have. And what is the point of my wins, if I canβt make someone elseβs wins easier?
I am who I am and I am where I am because of my hard work, Godβs grace and the people who have spoken my name up in rooms Iβm not in. The people who have given my cheat codes on this path to success. The mentors who have vouched for me. All of that is nepotism. I am thankful for it, and not ashamed to be a beneficiary. You shouldnβt be either.
Cuz there are a lot of nepo-babies who arenβt even deserving, who have made their way to the top.
Black people owe each other nepotism. Because we need everything we can get to stack more chips in our favor. Shoot, other people owe us nepotism too. Got a friend looking for a job and you know theyβre reliable? Slide them over to the hiring manager you know.Β
Itβs time for us to lean into our network and nepotism, unabashedly.
Anywho, about BeyonceΜ’s Renaissance Tour…
Recommendation
Autosave your dollars cuz we got expensive taste! Use Digit to autosave your dollars.
When BeyoncΓ© broke the internet with the announcement of the Renaissance tour, she also broke our budgets! Cuz sis said βOh you thought you were gonna stack some coins this year? LMAOOO NO.β And Iβm not even mad at it because Iβm readddyyyyyy for Mrs. Knowles-Carter!
Now that our pockets are pressed and under pressure, and we gotta submit to the Renaissance Tour Hunger Games, letβs talk about how we gon replenish our savings. Thatβs why Iβm telling you about Digit.Β
Digit is a platform that Iβve been using for over 4 years. It autosaves your money by analyzing your bank account and spending habits. Then it finds amounts you can spare, and it saves it for you. That money is then distributed into your savings goals.
Your funds will remain safe and protected while you save, and you can always move what you saved back to your bank account whenever you need it.
So for example, if you have $100 in your bank account, it might pull out 20 cents one day. Then 10 cents another day. What it autosaves for you is proportional to the amount you have sitting there.
Iβm about to empty my Digit savings for these Beyonce tickets and Iβm not even shamed! TAKE MY MONIES, sis!
Iβve got my whole family on Digit so they use it too. Itβs great for goal setting and I do it in addition to other savings mechanisms, but thisis one I sing the praises of because all you have to do is sit back, relax, and save money without even thinking about it!
If you click that button and use my referral link to sign up for Digit, youβll get $5 to start your auto-savings! And this is truly a product I vouch for (which everything I put in the LuvvLetter is Luvvie-tested and approved). Though I get commissions on these links, I put them here because I stand by them.
Wishing you a weekend full of good things and a Happy Black History MonthΒ Year.
Disclaimer: I receive commissions for purchases made through some of the links on my website. All thoughts and vouching are mine. I keep it true.
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Travel Guide
Luvvie has visited over 25 countries, and averaged over 110,000 miles of travel a year. This is a guide to pass on cheat codes sheβs learned to create as little chaos as possible while traveling.
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