Hot Smart Rich with Maggie Sellers Reum - Dear Media Star Les Alfred on Going From Corporate Girlie to Six-Figure Influencer in 3 Years (and the Rebrand That Changed Everything)

Episode Date: July 23, 2025

Have you ever wondered how long it really takes to go from a 9–5 to a six-figure influencer? What if your next chapter starts by trusting your gut, and not your job title? Les Alfred didn’t come from wealth. She didn’t have connections. But she had a voice, a podcast, and a powerful desire to grow beyond what her 9–5 at Hubspot allowed. In this episode of Hot Smart Rich, Maggie sits down with Les, the host of @shessoluckypod (Dear Media), to talk about what really happened for Les to reinvent herself, create her dream life, and make six-figures while doing it. They go deep on: How Les actually makes money as a creator (sponsorships, live events, speaking, and more) How to launch a podcast that people actually want to listen to—and how she grew to 10K+ downloads per episode Why her biggest opportunities (Michelle Obama, Melinda Gates interviews) came from her existing network—not cold pitching What changed when she stopped DIY-ing and hired people better than her How moving to New York unexpectedly unlocked everything she was craving And the truth about dating when you're an ambitious woman building something big Whether you're side-hustling, thinking about quitting, or feeling the pull to do more—this episode is your sign. ⸻ Chapters 00:00 – Meet Les Alfred from Dear Media's She's So Lucky Podcast 2:29 – How to Reinvent Your Life and Career From the Ground Up 5:13 – How to Get Your Podcast Signed to Dear Media 10:02 – How to Shift From Scarcity to Abundance With Money 13:43 – How to Turn Your Content Into a Real Six-Figure Business 18:28 – How to Build a Vision for Your Future (and Actually Get There) 23:08 – How to Break Free From Stereotypes and Build Your Own Identity 25:28 – How to Know When to Walk Away From the Wrong Relationship 27:01 – How to Date With an Abundance Mindset (Even When It’s Hard) 30:18 – How to Find the Right People to Support You As a Creator 32:51 – How to Get Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunities 34:54 – How to Rebrand Without Losing Your Audience 40:02 – How to Start a Podcast That People Actually Want to Listen To 42:02 – Rapid Fire: How to Know What You Really Love ⸻ This episode is sponsored by: - HSR Newsletter - Get 3 months free using ⁠this link⁠. ⸻ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ If you like what you hear, rate, review, and subscribe to Hot Smart Rich, the podcast supporting women who own their worth — in business, wealth, and life. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe on Youtube⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⸻ 💌Own your worth — and build the life you want. Subscribe to the Hot Smart Rich newsletter, the no-BS guide to startup life, consumer brands, and becoming your hottest, smartest, richest self, written by Maggie Sellers. Join 250,000+ women building wealth, confidence, and community on their own terms. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe here!⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⸻ Follow Maggie here: Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@maggiesellers⁠⁠⁠⁠ TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@maggiesellers_ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Maggie Sellers⁠⁠⁠⁠ ShopMy: Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Okay, when I sell my business, I want the best tax and investment advice. I want to help my kids, and I want to give back to the community. Ooh, then it's the vacation of a lifetime. I wonder if my head of office has a forever setting. An IG Private Wealth advisor creates the clarity you need with plans that harmonize your business, your family, and your dreams. Get financial advice that puts you at the center. Find your advisor at IG Private Wealth.com.

This episode is brought to you by Tellus Online Security. Oh, tax season is the worst. You mean hack season? Sorry, what? Yeah, cybercriminals love tax forms. But I've got Tellus Online Security. It helps protect against identity theft and financial fraud so I can stress less during tax season or any season.

Plan started just $12 a month. Learn more at tellus.com slash online security. No one can prevent all cybercrime or identity theft. Conditions apply. In case you missed it, you're allowed to be hot, smart, and rich. So let's get into it. Everyone ready? You know what I've always wanted to say since I filmed by myself?

Quiet on set? Okay, three, two, one. Les Alfred. Are you ready to get hot, smart rich? I am ready. Okay, so we always start with consumption habits. What is the last thing that you bought and the last most expensive thing that you bought? Ooh, the last thing that I bought, I ordered a dress like 10 minutes before I came here.

Wait, that's the best answer I've ever gotten. Where is it from? Just on Amazon, just like a little Amazon dress. So I ordered that literally like 10 minutes before I left the house. Okay. What was the second question? What I bought? Last most expensive thing that you bought.

Last most expensive thing that I bought. It definitely wasn't that. Last most expensive thing that I bought, I bought a new pair of glasses last week that are like Reading? Cute. No, I can't see. So they're like prescription frames. And they were pretty pricey.

But I really wanted them. And where were they from? They were from Warby Parker. Okay. Love Warby Parker. Okay. Well, so it's so nice to see you again. People might not know that we know each other actually.

And the story of how we know each other, do you remember when we first met? Was it at your happy hour? This was like two years ago. Yeah. Okay. Can we walk them through how we met? Yeah. So I was hosting my first, like, little influencer event.

And it was actually for a company that I was an investor of. And I had no idea what to expect. I thought literally like one person was going to come. And I feel like there was like 20 or 25, 30. really cool, very accomplished, like amazing people were there, which is so not what a typical influencer event you think is. You see like the little girls with machas that are 13 in purses and like lip glosses lining up. And I was just having conversations with people and you came up and I think you were a little late, not to call you out. And I remember you had like a really cool

job, which can we talk about a little bit? Yeah. And then I followed you ever since then where you have just made strides from being a corporate girlie. Now you're an ex-corporate girlie. You are an entrepreneur. You're a podcast host. You're doing all these amazing things. And I think it's so cool when you get to see somebody and their rise and not just, I hope a lot of new people find you through this.

But watching where you'll be in the next two years and three years, it's so fun to be like a fan and also like fans of each other. So walk us through, I guess, two years ago, what you were doing, what made you come to the event. And then we can get into what you're doing now. Yeah, definitely. So let's see. Two years ago, I was still working at my former corporate job.

I was working at HubSpot. And I was on the content marketing team there. And during my time at HubSpot, I had a few different roles. I was a blog editor for several years. So a big part of HubSpot's content engine is they have these really amazing blogs that generate a lot of leads in traffic that ultimately sell the software. So I'd been an editor of multiple of the blogs. And then I had around that time recently transitioned where I was running this marketing

newsletter on behalf of the company where I was looking up different marketing campaigns and things that I thought were interesting in marketing and I was writing about them. And it was a pretty sweet gig. Yeah. And were you touching the podcast landscape at all then or no? No, I still had my show. You did. And I was occasionally guesting on because HubSpot had podcasts that the company did. So I would occasionally hop on to those podcasts and talk about different, you know, news and things that were happening in marketing. And then I was also running my show on the side. I feel like since that time, completely changed your life. You move from L.A. to New York. You now are an entrepreneur. You've signed to Dear Media with your podcast, which I think a lot of people listening to this. Like,

it was also once my dream. And like we have so many things to get into. But I think for anybody that is listening to this, that also feels stuck and feels like they need to make a big change, walk us back to that moment where you were like, I am now going to bet on myself and do this for someone that's listening that wants to do the same. Yeah. It was 20, 23. I think that was when we'd met and it was earlier in the year in 2023 and about mid 2023, I was just feeling like my job was feeling repetitive and I knew that there was a lot more that I could be doing with my platforms if I had a little bit more spaciousness. And how big was your platform at that time though? At that time, I mean, my show was good.

My show was monetizable. I doing content in the show on the side, I was still earning like six figures from content as a side hustle. Can we just pause like for someone let's listening that's like what does it mean to have a show that's monetizable? Like, what level do people have to aspire to get to before they can start to monetize something to get to six figures? Yeah. So at least from a podcast perspective, I had enough listeners where I was running ads every episode. I had ad inventory. Where that starts for each show is a little bit different. Back in the old days of podcasting, most brands would say, okay, we want to start advertising it if you have 10,000 downloads per episode. that was kind of like the entry benchmark and then it goes up from there.

Yeah. And I had reached that point in like 2021 with my show. Wow, that's amazing. Yeah. And then so that was about two years after and it had continued to grow from there. And then that was the point where were you selling the ads yourself and you were like, okay, now I want to go and like try to really go and grow this with a network or like walk us through that point where you're like, okay, now I'm getting this show.

It's monetizable. Were you doing that yourself? No, thank goodness. Okay. I had an agency. You were like with another agency. Yeah, it was with another agency that just did ads. And so they would sell what's called DAI dynamic ad insertion, basically where they can insert ads across your whole catalog.

Because I'd had several years of podcasting before I'd monetized and we basically were able to monetize all of my backlog, everything from the beginning. Yeah. And I think for people that are listening to this that are corporate grilies and want to start a podcast or a social media channel, often they hear. hear from their employer, like, you can't do that because it's such a weird thing that sometimes brands want people with social followings to help the brand. Other times, a lot of people listening to this are going to be at employers that discourage that. Was your former employer encouraging of that? Or it was kind of like a don't talk about it, stupid under the rug? Like, what was that relationship like with your employer and you having a side hustle? I kept it pretty separate. My direct

managers who I reported to knew about it and were cool with it. And it was often because I I was doing very different content than what was related to my job. Like you never said, like, I work at HubSpot. I didn't. And also it was like, you know, on my platform, it was very wellness focused, especially at that time. So I wasn't talking about, you know, software or anything that was related or could have been a conflict of interest.

But I do think it's tricky if your niche is also closely related to your job. And then that is where I think girls can get into trouble. Right. And so you then signed a Dear Media. So walk us through because every girl. girl wants to sign to Dear Media. So how did that come about? Yeah, it was, I call it like such a manifestation moment because it was also in 2020. 2030, it was just a big year of changes for me. I was listening to one of the shows that was on the network. I think it was an episode of life with

Mariana. And it, you know, the episode started and it was like, you're now listening to a Dear Media production. And I was like, oh yeah, like, I listened to so many shows on this network, it would be cool to work with them. It was just a fleeting thought. And then the thought left my brain. A couple days later, I kid you not, I had an email from them saying, yeah, serious. Hey, we love your show. We'd love to talk about working with you. And I was like, I just thought this a couple days ago. Did you write this down? I didn't write it down. No. I just, I thought it and then just like moved on to the next thought. And what happened from there when they sent you that email? When they sent me that email, then it goes into the due diligence where it's, you know, they want to learn more about the show. They want to dig into your analytics.

and then it was a negotiation process. So the whole thing took several months to get up and running. But then by that fall, I'd signed to the network and moved everything over. And at that point, like, walk me through the structure of your team because I think a lot of people don't understand the rules that a lot of creators wear. It's like, you're a true entrepreneur. But were you negotiating the contract by yourself? Did you have a lawyer?

Like, what was that team structure? And when did you start bringing people in once you were like, I have a business with a podcast? That was the point where I started bringing people in. And I did work with a lawyer to negotiate. my contract. Previous to that, I had done a lot of smaller brand deals here and there on social media, but I had never had a contract of that magnitude that had that many terms. And so that was when I was like, okay, I need to invest in an attorney. I had gone to some conferences that year related to podcasting to meet people, ended up meeting a really great attorney there and worked

with her. And then upon signing with the network, I ended up bringing on a podcast manager to help me do things like coordinate booking guests, booking studio time, because before that, I was doing it all myself. It's so interesting you saying like you went to podcast conferences, because one of my most viral videos was like, why I'm paying $3,000 to go to Super Bowl. And a lot of the time you see creators going to these events or going to these things, and it looks like it's all a big party. But for me, I outlined my objectives very clearly. I am paying $3,000 to go to Super Bowl because I need to meet rich people. Why? Because I have an investment fund where we are looking for LPs to invest in me to invest in startups. I can't do that part of my job

if I don't know wealthy people. I was looking for brand sponsors. I was starting to take content really seriously. What are the brands? Who are the brands that are able to afford to go activate at Super Bowl? They have to be able to have a certain level that's probably allocated at least in some part to influencers. And then I think it was like really that social aspect of like who else is going to be there. And like part of this business is like, yes, we've been cheering each other on silently for last two years, but it's like even knowing you and then being in New York, it's like, oh, I can now put less on my podcast. It's because you came to my event. And I think it's so interesting to hear about you investing into going to a podcast conference and thinking like this is going to

pay off one day. What has your relationship been like with money as it relates to making investments and taking big swings and like really betting on yourself? It's changed a lot. My background was definitely lower income. And I, the way that I handled that, trauma response was to be super frugal. And in a lot of ways that really served me in my early adulthood. When I was in my 20s, I was really good about saving. I had a lot of student loans from college, but I was able to pay them off by my early 30s. I was able to start saving for retirement really early. So it did create a lot of good habits. But what I realized also around that same kind of time frame as I was beginning to elevate was that those frugality habits were not

serving me to get to the next level. So that was when I started to release the rip a little bit of, okay, I can hire an attorney to do this. Okay, I can bring on someone to my team to edit the podcast because I don't need to be doing it. And I had to learn that it was money well spent, but it was definitely a process to feel safe enough. And where are you at with your relationship with money today? Now I'm just like, but no, seriously, like walk us through, like, I think we live in this world of consumption, right? And that's why we start, like, talking about, are you comfortable talking about money? I am, yeah. Okay. And how did you feel like you got there from, like, where you just described your background came from.

Like, what were those things that allowed you to just feel like confident? So much of it was my values and really coming back to what is it that I value. And so even though I do, I like, you know, nice things and I do like to treat myself, ultimately the thing that I value the most is having my time. And so that is where I'm often willing to put the most money is what is going to save me the most time, whether that's delegating something, whether that's ordering meal prep, whether that's like having a really great gym where I have access to trainers already and I don't have to think about what workout to do. I became more comfortable spending money because it felt in alignment with my values of valuing my time.

And when you brought on bigger people into your team, because I think a lot of people listening to this, like we do have a lot of solopreneurs, I would call them, that are like doing everything themselves and the idea that, you know, I think my sister and I says all the time with each other, like no one can do it as good as us, honestly, and I'm sure you feel the same. but there is a point where you realize that investment in human capital actually is going to save you more time and elevate yourself. Where you're at right now, what is the team structure that you have? And like where do you feel like you're spending the most amount of money in your business to continue to elevate yourself to that next level? Yeah. I actually love that you ask that because I'm currently in transition. I think that when people have businesses and they first start delegating, the first step is almost just like get anybody to do this who isn't me and I will train them. and make them better, whether that's bringing on interns or bringing on early career people. They may not do it as well as you, but it's just so helpful to have that freed up off your plate. And that's a space that I've been operating in for a really long time.

Now I'm currently moving into this space where I'm like, actually, I want to pay people who have the experience whose zones of genius are in these things who are doing it better than me. And so I'm currently in the process of restructuring my whole team, which is hard, because it's like I've worked with really amazing people who I think can be better served in other roles. And I also think that my business can be better served by just bringing in some fresh perspectives. But it is a higher cost to bring in people who have more experience who do things better than I do. But I think it's worth it. It's so interesting because I'm obviously around so many entrepreneurs and so many creators. And you speak so much like an entrepreneur that's building

like a tangible business. But your business is content, right? You like can you walk people through what your businesses and like how you make money. Yeah, yeah. So right now my business has two main sides to it. There's the podcast brand. So she's so lucky is the show. Wait, I was going to say this for later, but I actually wear a shirt for you for your new brand because it's like the first time I'm on the podcast. Oh my God. That's so cute. Because you just rebranded to she's so lucky from balanced black girl. Which we got into later. But I keep going. Yes. Love that. So she's so lucky. That is all things podcast and that is kind of its own brand. It's closely aligned to my personal brand, but it's its own thing. So the main way I monetize there is through ads on my show. Would you split with

your media? Yes. Yes. So it's a commission structure. So they negotiate the deals and things on my behalf, take a commission and then I keep the rest. So that is one form of monetization on the show. Live events are another form of monetization on the show. So throughout the year, I will do live shows in my key cities, which is like an expansion exercise for sure. You love public speaking. I do love public speaking. I don't love the behind the scenes of putting events together. Okay. So you're like not, I guess, yeah, because that's something that people don't know when I worked in music and I was working for artists. Like you are doing all of the production of the tour and then you are essentially losing money for the first few shows or like the first few weeks of

shows. And then the back end is where you're actually making up the money because you're actually responsible for all of the cost and all of the production, which people don't know. Yes. Okay. So that's part of the She's So Lucky brand. So that's part of the She's So Lucky brand. And then you have things like merch related to the show. And so that is like monetization on that side of the business. And the other side of the business is my personal brand. So that is where I do more, I guess you would consider traditional influencer work. So I share content across various social platforms. I work with brands

to share content across various social platforms. I also do public speaking. And I, you know, will moderate panels. I will moderate events. I will give keynotes that I'm often paid to do. So those are the two main buckets. Every ambitious woman has a secret weapon. So let yours be the Hot Smart Rich Insights. It's how over 250,000 women are owning their worth in business, wealth, and life. Whether you're building a brand, making moves in your career, or wanting to get control over your finances, the Hot Smart Rich newsletter delivers the cultural context and consumer intel to keep you ahead. With only six months left in the year, it's time to make consumer trends, financial hacks, and HsR Insights, your best friend, instead of mindlessly scrolling on social media. We've built one of the most powerful communities of women at the intersection of consumer, capital, and culture.

So join us with the paid version of our newsletter free for three months with the link in the show notes to claim your free offer. So you smile when you say, like, I'm an influencer and then you're so, like, strong when you say I'm an entrepreneur. Do you identify with one more than the other? There's something else here now. Something new. From exclusively on Paramount Plus, it's the series Stephen King calls Scarious Hell. Everything here is impossible, but it's also real.

Sci-fi vision calls it the best show streaming right now. We're running out of time and we still don't know the rules. Don't miss what the movie blog calls something you need to watch. Saving those children is how we all go home. from binge all episodes exclusively on Paramount Plus. Before you knew what a stock was, you traded snacks, cards, turns. That instinct to trade didn't disappear. It just grew up.

With no minimums, no monthly fees, and 100 free trades, Td Easy Trade taps into that instinct. Because you are made to trade, and TD Easy Trade is made to help. I think it like entrepreneur is the overall term and then influencer is like a part of the job description, right? And are you proud of that part of the job description? I am. I think people are so icky about that word and I don't see why it's icky. Well, me either. I actually have a lot of thoughts about why it's achy. Okay, go. I think it's because it's a female dominated industry and people don't take the work seriously because it's often women who are more successful at it. I think that's why it is and I think it's often misogyn. but I don't feel any bad way about about being an influencer because I think I'm influencing people in a good way. I'm influencing people to take better care of themselves to work out, to read books, to have good conversations, to be introspective. And I feel good about what

I'm often influencing people to do. It's so true, but I think I need to know if you relate to this because even on the way here, like this week has, like we were just talking about this. I literally got off a flight from Europe. I have done like maybe 10 hours at my house coming here, filming a podcast, going to do a speaking event, like hosting female founders, coming here, doing another thing. And I was literally eating lunch on the way here, putting my makeup in the Uber. And I was saying to my sister, I still feel like I'm not doing enough. And it's because I think I haven't touched the investor side of my business this week where it's like, that's what I'm used to is like grinding, being on my computer, looking at models, looking at decks, looking at these things,

taking calls. And we're so trained when we're growing up that like you go to a good school, you graduate college, you get a job that's a nine to five, Breaking out of that for so many people is extremely difficult because we haven't seen the role models. It's starting, right? Like people look to you and that's why I'm so happy we're having this really intelligent, intellectual, in-depth conversation where you're not afraid to show people how to be you in 10 years, right? Where do you want to be in 10 years and who do you look at with the business that you have today that inspires you to build something that's bigger than where you are today? I love that question. I would say I want to feel like I have a full media company underneath me.

And so that may not necessarily rely solely on my content, whether that is me supporting other podcasters, me supporting other creators, having an ecosystem of content that I have a team that supports. I'm not fully sure what I want that to look like. But I do know that media, I feel like, is one of my gifts and storytelling is one of my gifts. And so it's something that I want to continue to grow under. I also would love to get into investing.

That's like another goal of mine to be able to do like investing in companies, not just the stock market. So that's a big goal of mine. I also would really love to be an author, particularly of fiction. So those are all things that I aspire to do. And the different people that inspire me are all different things, whether it's an author that I love, who I'm like, I freaking love the way that they tell stories. Actually, someone who I really look to a lot would be Reese Witherspoon and what she's created with Hello Sunshine and that ecosystem of how. how she uses her influence to select these books, then puts the production behind it to buy the rights,

tell the stories, whether it's a movie or whatever, and has created this incredible business. Something like that, I think, is really, really fascinating. What do you think about building these dreams and being in New York? Because going back to what we were first talking about, you made these huge life decisions from L.A. to New York. Personally, I could never live in New York because it's just too fast-paced for me. Why did you make that decision and looking back, is it two years later?

Two years later, do you feel like New York has been that ground that has allowed you this life that you now live? I do think it has. And what's interesting about when I moved to New York is it was kind of unintentional. When I had left L.A. in 2023, I thought I was just going to travel and kind of nomad for a few months. And then I thought I was going to come back. And is that where your family's from? No, my family's in Seattle. So not far. So I had put all my stuff in storage the summer of 2023. I was just kind of traveling. around and I thought that at the end of 2023, I was going to move back to L.A. That was my original intention. And where did you live in L.A.? I lived in Playa Vista. Okay. So even like that half the hour you did was so close. It was also like really helpful. It was like literally two streets away from her but yeah. Yes. Um, those things was Marina. Yeah. And so, but I ended up coming to New York because

I had a friend of mine who was going to grad school. She needed someone to sublet her apartment for a little while until she figured out what she was going to do with it. And I was like, oh, it's fall. I've been traveling fall in New York sounds really fun I never did the live in New York thing in your 20s and so I thought okay I'll spend a month in New York that's great I came and then things just really started falling into place I was making connections I was making friends I was building community I just felt really good being here I kept extending my time in her apartment until finally I just had to be honest with myself and be like I actually don't feel pulled to go back to L.A I feel pulled to stay here and I don't know why that is but I'm just going to do it.

And so I ended up like manifesting an apartment really easily and just staying. You talk about manifesting so eloquently. How does someone listening to this manifest that same dream light that they have for themselves as well as you do? Yeah. I think it comes from not being attached to a certain outcome and also not being attached to how things come to be. Because if you would have told me maybe three years ago that I would be living in New York, I probably would have had a picture of that that would have looked entirely different. I probably would have assumed that I would still going to be in corporate, working in an office

every day. Three years ago, you could have thought that. If you would have told me, you know, in 2025, you're going to be living in New York, that's probably what I would have thought. And so, detaching from the stories of how we think things are going to go is really helpful. I also had this idea in my head, even when I decided that I wanted to stay in New York, that apartment hunting is so hard, which it is. Finding an apartment in New York is crazy, but sometimes you can get lucky, no pun intended,

and it doesn't have to be. And so what ended up happening with me was the building that I was staying in that I was subletting from my friend's unit, they had another unit open up the day that I needed to be out of her place. And so I just moved literally a door over. A door over. And I didn't have to apartment hunt. I didn't have to do anything crazy because I was just open to letting things unfold how they could unfold. We hear a lot of the negatives of living in New York, obviously, and one of the ones that I'm not purvy to being in L.A. is like this New York City influencer culture. Walk me through like your perception of New York City influencer culture. Yeah. I think I wouldn't say that I'm super connected to what most people would consider New York City influencer culture because I think a lot of it is generational. I think when people think negatively about New York City influencers, they have a perception of a Gen Z girl who is living in a very particular part of the city and all she does is drink macha and go to Pilates, which I would say, even of the little bit of time that I've spent around those girls, they definitely don't just do

that, but that's the perception. But I do think for me, not being in my 20s, being in my 30s, having corporate experience and just moving in different spaces, I can say that there are definitely a lot of influencers who don't fit that mold, who are very community oriented and live all types of different lives. But doesn't you think that's such an unfair stereotype that's put onto like an entire city of like that is not how everybody. And I think the reason I'm asking that question is because so often in our life take away the word influencer, but we're typecasted into a specific group because of where we live or

what we do or what people think of you. And so breaking out of that mold is incredibly difficult when all of that drama is going around and you're like, well, I'm technically an influencer. I technically live in New York City. I don't like subscribe to that. How do, what advice would you give to somebody that's also feeling like they're typecasted into one thing and they're trying to break out of that to build a life that's so much different than what people just assume they are.

Yeah. I think a lot of it comes down to kind of what I was saying earlier about money is like knowing your values and being firmly rooted in who you are, being okay with letting people be wrong about you because especially if people only see you on the other side of a screen, there's only so much that they're going to be able to decipher and we're all dynamic beings who have so much more to us than what people see, you know, on social media. And I also think it's important to look at, okay, well, how do people who are actually in your life feel about you? How would they describe you? How did they see you? The people who you're around every day and you interact with, like,

that is so much more important, I think, than somebody who might look at what you're sharing or might glance at you for a second and come up with a preconceived notion. Dating in New York. Okay, what is that like? I don't think that dating in New York has been super different from dating anywhere else I've lived. What is dating right now like? Dating right now like. Okay. Well, right now, I feel like I'm in a weird spot because I'd been dating someone for several months and recently ended it.

Okay. And I haven't gotten back to this. Thank you. Yes. I actually am really happy about that. And I'm very proud of myself. Was it the guy that I met at that event? Oh, what event?

No, no, no, no. I wasn't dating in here. I think. he maybe was interested in me. Yeah. I was like, I kind of felt bad because I saw you and I was so excited. I was like, no, that's fine. And then you guys were kind of having this really cute conversation.

And I was like, wait, did I just fuck up this like moment for them? You didn't. I had a really awkward interaction with him maybe two weeks after that event because I was out with the guy that I was dating and he was at the same place. Anyway, it was like a whole thing. The world is very small. You even think in a big city is not that big. Okay.

But I'm actually really proud of myself for that. situation because I've actually learned how to move on from things, not move on from things quicker, to end something quicker if I know it's not working. And when I was younger, I had a lot of scenarios where I would date people and I would know either this isn't my person, this isn't how I want to feel, this isn't serving me, and I would just stay with them just because. And I feel like my dating experiences most recently when I get that gut feeling where I'm like, actually, this isn't a bad person, but they're just not, this isn't what I want from partnership. This isn't where I need to be. I'm learning how to act on that a lot quicker. And I'm very proud of

myself. Do you feel like that's because you have a very abundance mindset? Like there's going to be somebody for me because I think a lot of girls, I can speak from my own experience, being with people for a very long time. Like I would ignore those feelings or those signs because I was like, well, what if there's not somebody that's better? How do you move through that in terms of having that and training that abundance mindset, because it sounds like you're training that. It is. And it's something that I've been doing in real time,

because I also have done exactly what you described, and I very much felt that way before. And I had to remind myself, girl, you always end up meeting somebody else, though. That hasn't been a problem. What is the problem with dating then right now? I think, well, in my experience, it's just either been a misalignment of priorities,

a misalignment of, like, what it is that you want, or just compatibility. It's so interesting, though, because I actually love asking my guests when I do and ask me anything on my page. I get a lot of girls that are these, we call them HSR girls. They're ambitious. They're driven.

They have a vision. They know who they are. They are like a freaking dream. They're beautiful inside and out. They are intelligent. They can carry a conversation. They know their value. They know their worth.

And I think there is a genuine conversation going on right now around this dating crisis. And I remember hearing that and being really scared before I, you know, found my partner. And I also still remember being like, it's not going to happen to me. Like, I've always had that mindset where like, I saw my future. I saw my success. And I was like, that is going to be where I'm going to go. But I think a lot of the time women specifically that are listening to this conversation of like men are falling behind and like even graduation rates for men are slowing down. Like they're not earning as much money. When you are an HSR girl, as I would call you, like, that can be terrifying because you're like, is somebody going

to be able to keep up with me, do you find that you are afraid of finding somebody that can level you up? Or like, do you feel like people that you're dating are threatened by what the world is that you've built? I've experienced both. I would say I've definitely experienced people who are like haters. I've definitely dated some haters and had to cut that loose. But I also have had experiences where I've dated really great men who are really supportive. And even though those relationships didn't work. out. The way I think of it is like proof of concept of actually I also know that there are men

out here who are also successful, not threatened by what I've got going on. And if he didn't feel that way, I'm sure that someone else will be able to do the same thing who's a better fit for me. Yeah. My therapist told me something that was so amazing when I first were dating my boyfriend now because I was so afraid. Like he was so good. And I was like, you know, and it's so good. You're just like, well, when's it's going to all fall apart? And my therapist said to me, this is your new standard. Knowing how you've been treated now, you will never go for less.

And there will always be people that will treat you at that level. And I think for me, what I've realized is as much as I have that gut intuition and I think we both have that unspoken it factor of being able to figure things out for yourself, I also did have to build an ecosystem of people around me. Like my sister is my business partner,

my therapist, like cutting certain friends out of my life, having a personal board of advisors, when you're dealing with bigger questions, whether it's your career, whether it's dating, like, who do you go for and how did you know that they were the right people to put into that role in your life? For sure. I think it's really important to know who to go to for what because I have had friends from, you know, elementary school onward who are still a part of my life, who I love dearly.

But I know that if I do have a friend who maybe if I'm thinking about work has really negative ideas about money. I don't cut that friend out by any means, but I don't go talk to her about money. I don't go talk to her about what's going on in my business. We can talk about other things that we may be have in common, but I will go to my other peers who I know are in a similar situation and have been through similar things and have a similar mindset to get their perspectives. Do you feel like in that when you're going around the business conversation, right? Like, it's so interesting coming from the startup world, we're all trying to work together. And it's like the first thing that they say to do when you're,

starting a startup is like go talk to other startup founders. And like everyone always asks me, how do I meet venture capitalists? How do I raise money for my business? And I'm like, don't cold call, don't cold email, go to a founder, see who they've raised money from. Be helpful to them. Like literally give them advice, give them things for free. And then when it's a good appropriate time and you feel like you've given to that relationship, like ask for an introduction. And that is the best way to meet a BC. So the startup environment is very collaborative. People are there to help each other. It's interesting now, being an influencer and wearing that hat where I do sometimes feel like people have that scarcity

mindset. They don't want to share that connection. They don't want to talk about what they're actually making. They don't want to share downloads. Like that's what I love then you're just like, it's 10,000 downloads to start monetizing because people, what I've realized, they're so afraid to like have that collaboration. Do you get that same sense like in the circles that you run in? Or is that something where like it just doesn't even come up and come.

Like people are just willing to help you. That's a good question. I think I am really fortunate to have people who are willing to help me, but I do think it's taken a while to get there, especially as a creator. And I think when you're first starting off as a creator, it can be very lonely and very isolating because it's you and your phone trying to figure out what to do. What you're doing? What you're doing today? Yeah. But as you go and as you start to occupy more spaces and you're around other people, you do start to get a feel for who is for a community and who's not. Honestly, honestly. I think having a podcast has been one of the best tools. Like you interviewed Melinda French Gates and other incredible people. How does that come to be? And how does that make you feel to give in the privilege to do that? So, again, lucky, no pun intended.

But what's interesting is even the opportunities to do those things have all come from people I knew. So I got to do the interview with Melinda Gates because a friend of mine from Seattle works for her organization. They were doing some promo from Melinda's book here in New York. And so Jess reached out to me and said, hey, are you available? I'd love to include you in this event we're doing with Melinda. I did something very similar with Michelle Obama several years ago. You interviewed Michelle Obama. I did.

I did. This was back in 2019. Teach me. Teach me. No, I got so lucky. So how that came to be was I had organized this book club back when I was still living in Seattle when she came out with her first memoir. And I had put out on Instagram like, hey, I'm reading this book. If you want to come talk about it, come to this place.

got like a little sponsor and we did our little book club. The next day, I'm walking to work in one of my coworkers who had previously worked for President Obama was like, hey, I'm on the team organizing Michelle Obama's book tour and she likes to meet with groups at every tour stop she does. You just did a book club. Would your group want to meet her before her Seattle tour stop? And I was like, girl, absolutely. And then that's how that came to be. It's like always people that I know connecting me with these amazing opportunities and I'm so grateful. But I think it's also you not being afraid to share what you're doing. And that's actually a hump I've recently gotten over. Like I have these things called like toxic traits of hot, smart rich girls. And it's like thinking people are mad at you. Like getting anxiety about the unknown. And just like even for me, I've had so much anxiety about sharing all the amazing wonderful things that I've built. I don't even know why. And I think it's like if that's not the sign to put yourself out there and what you're doing on social media, like there couldn't be something that could be more obvious. Like you've interviewed two of the most, let's quote unquote say like powerful.

people in America, powerful women in America, just by putting it out there and people seeing that and bringing you the opportunity. Is that why you rebranded your podcast? Is She's So Lucky? Or walk us through, like, having a balanced Black Girl as your podcast cover is a very specific brand. Navigating now to She's So Lucky, where did that change come from? Yeah. I mean, I started the show under the name Balance Black Girl in 2018. And when I started podcasting, the name was the first thing that I thought of because at that time, I had a fitness blog. And the fitness blog was called the Balance Barry.

So when I first started creating content, almost a decade ago, that was the name. And so I had talked a lot about balance. And it was this idea, because in the 2010s, the wellness space was, it's very, like, restrictive, very diet-cultory. I was talking a lot about how do we find balance while still taking care of ourselves? How can we care about fitness without over-exam? exercising. How can we care about food without being restrictive? And so balance had been a theme in my content for the first several years that I'd been a creator. And so when I decided to sunset that

old blog, I had created Balance Black Girl. I wanted to spotlight women of color in wellness because having been in the wellness space at that time, and I was also a personal trainer, I just felt like it was very male heavy. And I just felt like I wasn't able to learn from people who could share my lived experiences. And so that was really the start of the podcast. And it was very sciencey and it was very wellness heavy. Over time, I started to skew more towards lifestyle content and doing less episodes that were like, let's invite this black woman GI doctor to give us an hour long debrief on gut health. That was like what the show used to be to how can we share stories of this really interesting entrepreneur, this interesting creative and how she's created her own success.

And my audience really liked it. And that was when things really started growing. And so when I rebranded earlier this year, a lot of it was around, okay, how can I repackage the show to better match what it's now about? Because when I first started it, it was just entirely different. It was very wellness oriented and it was just very specifically a wellness show. And as it evolved to be more of a self-help lifestyle show, I felt like I needed to repackage it to better match that theme. Were you afraid of letting go of the old name of like even people being confused? Like, how did you walk the consumer through a large change like that. Yeah, I was super nervous about it. But I also in my gut felt like it was the right thing to do. And so my whole approach was to just over communicate it. So it was about

three months before I knew the rebrand was going to go live. I did it. I rebranded officially in March of 2025. This year. Yeah. So three months before that, I started communicating with my audience on the podcast and on social, that the name was going to be changing, that things were going to be updated. And I would show them little sneak peek. So whether that was like hints of the news, branding or why I was choosing to rebrand or all of these different things. And I was just over communicating. I was talking about it so much. One, to try to avoid that confusion so that they knew that the old name was going away. And two, so that they felt like they were a part of it. And so I actually got a lot of support through the rebrand because people were just so excited

because I had been talking about it for three months straight. They were probably ready for me to shut up about it, honestly. Well, that's actually like one of the things that I get so nervous about it and like I got really good advice from a founder of mine that was like overuse your assets overwork your assets like I sometimes feel like I repeat the same thing so many times but then I'm like people actually miss we're so tuned into what we're doing but like the biggest secret of life is that nobody gives a fuck about what you're doing which is like a blessing and a curse right so that if nobody gives a fuck about you you have to like beat it down the door until people start to care about you but on the flip side you almost get into your own head because you're like

I've talked about this so much that like I don't know if people are annoyed for this to be done yet. Yeah. And it's the reality is people see a fraction of what we do. Yeah. And so you have to over communicate things because people have stuff going on. They forget you can get shadow banned. People don't see it. So over communication is key. And is that when you were doing the rebrand like as you are bringing on a branding agency or you're finding a freelancer? Was that something that like dear media was helping you with? Or they just trusted your vision and they were like, okay, yeah, we're going to like support you, but we're not actually going to be helping you put the pieces together. It was a combination of both. And it was, it was really whatever I wanted to do. I have a designer who I've worked with for several years, who she and I have

done so many projects together. And we just like get each other. And so I did enlist her to create the branding and the visual style guide and just what I wanted because I like love working with her. And then I did bring elements of that over to the network and say, hey, this is, these are the images we like. These are the fonts that we're using. And so I collaborated. with the network on the cover art and then the rest of the branding I had worked on with my own team. If someone's listening to this and they want to launch their own podcast, it's so interesting to hear that you started very niche because I think a lot of the time we hear like niche down so you can find her people and then you can kind of evolve and grow it. But on the flip side, you're saying that like the show really started growing when you went more in that like lifestyle now like she's so lucky branding. If somebody is listening to this that wants to start a podcast, what advice would you have for them to?

cut through the noise. Yeah, I don't think that people need to be as niche as they used to, because I think especially with podcasting, the way people listen to and consume podcasts is entirely different. In 2018, when I started, podcasts were very niche. They were audio only. A lot less people were listening to them. They were very specific versus now podcasting is very normal. Everybody listens to a podcast. Everybody has their different shows and rotations and things that they like. So I don't think people necessarily need to niche down, but I do think they need to be very clear on what their show is about. And I think where a lot of people get tripped up about podcasting is they think, oh, I just like to talk or me and my friend are so funny, so we're

going to start a show. And that's great. And you can do that if you want it to be a hobby. But if you want to have an audience, you need to have a position, you need to have a message. And that message can be flexible, but it needs to be about something. Why would somebody who doesn't know you want to listen to this. 1,000%. I actually have a prediction that I think almost most people that are trying to build a personal brand will have a podcast because it's just a way to like really engage with your consumer in a way that like they intimately know you.

And I've even noticed that since doing the podcast. Like people know so many more details about my life and like my opinions than I would ever put on social media. But I think one of the things that people don't realize is that having a podcast is a huge investment. Unlike social media that is free to put this together, to rent a studio, to get mics, to get the videos. was like, this is not cheap. And so I think before, and people have always said this to me.

They were like, why did you wait to start a podcast for so long? Like, and people had been asking for it two years before I even did it. And I was like, I'm not in the financial position or ready to spend my money that way. I'm still building my brand as an investor. I'm still making investments, like bringing on people into my team. Like, we're just not ready. And I think it's such a huge opportunity for people, but it has to be the right time for things. Speaking of time, we are running out of time because I could talk to you forever. I need to do some rapid fire with you if that's okay. Okay, I'm excited.

Okay, let's start with your favorite podcast. That's not yours. My favorite podcast, that's not mine. What did I listen to most recently? I mean, I do love the 2B magnetic ladies. And so I feel like I listen to that one probably the most often. Okay. Who is your favorite comfort creator that you just put on at the end of the day when you're exhausted?

My favorite comfort creator? Oh my goodness. Probably her name is Kristen. I think her handle is House Chris. She's on Instagram and TikTok. She's the girl who always does the Diet Coke breaks. You have never seen this. Really?

This is why I love the show because I have more people to go and creep. But you know who I just followed this morning? I think she's from New York. Who? There is this trend on TikTok that's like you send a picture of your bag to your boyfriend or your husband. And you're like, how many likes and comments for this to happen? And some people are like just sending it directly to the Chanel store. Some people are like 50,000 likes, like 10,000 comments, whatever.

Clark saw this video of this girl who was like, to her husband to be. What would it take for you to buy me these two coach bags? And he makes her literally jump through hoops. And so Clark buys her both of the bags. She's like, we are doing none of that. And sir, like, you need to make sure you are treating your wafee correctly. And I was like immediate follow. And actually she was my 4-4-4 follow, which is like a big number.

number for me, so I'm now obsessed with her. No, Clark is amazing. I've been following her for years. She's great. Okay. Would you rather dress or pants? Pants. Morning or night? Morning. L.A. or New York? Right now, New York. But not forever, it sounds like. There are things about L.A. that I love, and I could maybe see a future chapter of my life, maybe when I'm more ready to settle down, being in L.A. Okay. You can only choose one for the rest of your life. Coffee to your cocktail. Oh, coffee. What's your order? For sure. I mean, usually just a latte. If they have lavender, I'll do a lavender latte. I love that. Um, walk or Uber? Mm, walk. Okay, I love that. And then hot or cold? Hot. Hot. Hot, for sure. Oh, my God. Well, you're not missing any of that in

New York. It's very hot here right now. Les Alfred, thank you so much for coming on. My audience always wants to know how they can help you. So, like, what are you doing right now? Are you hiring? Are you, like, what are you promoting. What are the things that they can consume of yours? And where can they find you? Yeah. I mean, the best thing they can do is come over and listen to She's So Lucky. So it's stories of women who create their own luck. So it's everywhere you get your podcasts, new episodes every Tuesday. Amazing. Thank you guys so much for listening and go follow less.