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Ep 151: I Make Films for Black People and Everybody Can Watch with Barbara Allen Two little girls saw a movie camera in a mail order catalog and spent a whole week on the phone building a case to bring to their parents. They both got a yes. Fifty some years later, one of them is a filmmaker and the other one is her writer. This week I'm talking with documentary filmmaker Barbara Allen, the person behind Paper Trail: 100 Years of the Chicago Defender, DuSable to Obama: Chicago's Black Metropolis, Colorblind: Rethinking Race, and House Music: A Cultural Revolution. Recorded live at Lumpen Radio, no edits, no retakes. What We Talk AboutHow an 8 year old talks her mother into a movie camera, and how that kid and her best friend ended up in an editing room together twenty years laterWhy the Vivian Harsh Collection at Woodson Library is the place to go for Black Chicago history, and what's in there that the big museums don't haveThe Black pilots of 1930s Chicago: Cornelius Coffey, Willa Brown, and the man they called the one man Ethiopian Air ForceWhy she deliberately cast white male experts in a documentary about racism, and why it workedTime travel, virtual reality, and putting a viewer on a rooftop during Hurricane KatrinaWhere she lands on AI, and the dark comedy about AI she's making right nowThe one thing she wishes more interviewers would do If you love Chicago history, oral archives, or anybody who has been following their curiosity since childhood, this episode is for you. All about Barbara AllenYou're gonna love Barbara. She's a straight up walking archive with a great sense of humor about it. She's a producer, director, editor, engineer, and journalist who has spent decades telling stories about Black history, culture, and Chicago. Her documentaries include Paper Trail: 100 Years of the Chicago Defender, DuSable to Obama: Chicago's Black Metropolis, Colorblind: Rethinking Race, and House Music: A Cultural Revolution. She was a Knight Fellow at Stanford in 2013, where she built one of the first immersive VR journalism pieces, a Hurricane Katrina rooftop story narrated by Harry Lennix. She's currently raising funds for Realignment, a dark comedy about AI that is a pilot for a series. Chapters: 00:22 - Settle In — Live, Unedited Conversation on Nosy AF02:15 - Origins: Making Films at Eight06:14 - Wearing Many Hats: Learning Every Side of Filmmaking14:27 - Film timeline — Paper Trail and other works20:50 - Social Media as Archive: Self‑Documenting and the Future of Storytelling31:51 - Show Return — Barbara Allen: A Walking Archive34:43 - AI, Authenticity, and Immersive Storytelling42:01 - AI and Storytelling: When Technology Becomes the Story49:16 - Lessons Learned Behind the Camera52:45 - Advice for the Next Generation — Passion vs. Fame59:43 - Episode Closing — Thanks & Credits Things We MentionedPaper Trail: 100 Years of the Chicago DefenderDuSable to Obama: Chicago's Black MetropolisColorblind: Rethinking RaceHouse Music: A Cultural RevolutionRealignment, her AI dark comedy in development, fiscally sponsored and currently fundraisingThe Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection at the Carter G. Woodson Regional LibraryMichael Flug, archivistTimuel Black, Chicago historianDr. Daniel Hale Williams and Provident HospitalCornelius Coffey, John Robinson, Willa Brown, and Bessie ColemanSusan Cayton Woodson and her grandfather Hiram Revels, the first Black U.S. senatorThe Chicago Defender's WWII Victory Edition and the Double V campaignGail Baker, her writer since they were 8Tim Wise and the Brandeis researcher who coined "the Black tax"Jeremy Bailenson and Nonny de la PeñaHarry LennixDonald Crossley of the House Music documentaryFelicia Kreger, who made the introductionRecent screening of DuSable to Obama at the Chicago Cultural Center with DCASE Connect with Barbara AllenBarbara’s Production Company “Middle Passage Productions”House Music: A Cultural Revolution is on the WTTW YouTube channel Sponsor Shoutout 💖This episode features Artist Admin Hour. Every Wednesday, 7 to 9pm Central, artists get on Zoom and knock out the applications, grants, budgets, and invoices we've all been avoiding. Two hours of body doubling with structure, no shame, and real community. artistadminhour.com Stay ConnectedSign up for the noseyAF Dispatch and grab the Good Neighbor Playbook. Behind the MicnoseyAF is a project of Stephanie Graham's art practice. More ways to [email protected] | @stephaniegraham | noseyaf.com Support & FeedbackRate and review the show, and share this episode with a friend who loves Chicago history. Episode CreditsProduced, Hosted, and Edited by Stephanie Graham Lyrics: Queen Lex | Instrumental: Freddie Bam Fam | Cover Art: Emma McGoldrick

Recorded live on Lumpen Radio 105.5 FM, Saturday, September 12, 2026 A teacher looked at her painting in front of the whole class and called it a knowledgeable failure. She took it as a compliment. Chicago painter Megan Williamson has been painting for decades and is nowhere near finished figuring out what painting can do. From a hundred Zoom portraits to a room full of circus figures, her work is about looking, searching, and following an idea wherever it goes. What We Talk About What a teacher meant when he called her painting a knowledgeable failure, and why she now tells that story to her own studentsWhy the circus, and what an E.E. Cummings quote and a nun have to do with her new exhibitionHow a hundred Zoom portraits during the pandemic changed what she knew about painting peopleThe unexpected turn: what she does when she has no idea what's going to happen in the studio, which is more often than you'd think If you love hearing an artist talk honestly about not knowing, this episode is for you. Chapters: • 00:12 - Live, Unedited Conversation Begins • 01:12 - Interview Begins — Megan Williamson, Chicago Painter • 12:54 - Studio Companion: My Dog Tao Teo • 20:19 - From Classroom to Studio: How Teaching Shapes Her Art • 30:43 - Ad Break — The Inner Guide: Finding Answers Within • 42:11 - Learning to Be Brave — Childhood, Horses, and Early Lessons • 48:44 - From Coloring Pages to a Calling: Teacher Memories • 59:30 - Closing Remarks — Exhibition Details & How to Follow Megan All about Megan Williamson You're gonna love Megan! She's a painter who is genuinely still curious after decades of doing this. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, and this October she has a solo exhibition at the Swope Art Museum in Terre Haute, Indiana, titled Damn Everything But the Circus, after an E.E. Cummings line. She studied at Knox College and the New York Studio School, teaches landscape painting, and keeps a studio here in Chicago. Things We Mentioned Damn Everything But the Circus, Swope Art Museum, opening OctoberHer hundred Zoom portraits projectKnox College and the New York Studio SchoolGabriel Laderman, the teacher behind the knowledgeable failureRisha Brown Inner Guide Podcast Connect with Megan Williamson IG: @meganwilliamson_artMegan’s Website Stay Connected 📬 Get the noseyAF Dispatch — all the month's episodes, straight to your inbox once a month. → Subscribe here 🏡 Grab the Good Neighbor Playbook → Download it free Behind the Mic noseyAF is a project of Stephanie Graham's art practice — photography, film, and documentary work rooted in community and curiosity. → See the work More ways to connect Email: [email protected] on IG: @stephaniegrahamListen to more episodes: noseyaf.com Support & Feedback noseyAF is listener-supported — thank you for being here. 💛 ⭐ Rate & Review the Show 📣 Share noseyAF with a friend who needs to hear this Episode Credits Produced, Hosted, and Edited by Stephanie Graham Lyrics: Queen Lex | Instrumental: Freddie Bam Fam | Cover Art: Emma McGoldrick

Ep 149: All That and a Bag of Chips: 31 Days of Black Business Reflections No guest. No theme song. Just me, a cup of coffee, and whatever came out of my mouth. 🖤 We made it. Thirty-one days, thirty-one Black business owners, every single day of August. And then two days into September, because that's how it goes. This one is unscripted. I sat down and talked off the top of my head about what this series actually took, what it reminded me of, and the thing I realized halfway through that I'm still sitting with. What I get into How this started, and why Denzel Turner of Black Fridays is the reason the whole series existsWhat it actually took: the intake forms, the rescheduling, the Chicago storms that knocked our power out, and editing every single episode myselfThe thing I realized halfway through — that I've been making oral archives my whole practice, from So This One Guy to The Black Kid Table, and this is just the first time in podcast formDo it scared. Every single story in this series had a moment where the thing almost didn't happen.Have friends who see you. Several of these businesses exist because a friend kept asking when they were going to start.Word of mouth as a whole thread of the month, and why relationship marketing kept coming upAnd the last thing: I really am all that and a bag of chips. I did that. Chapters: 00:01 - Introduction to Nosey AF Conversations02:21 - The Journey of Black Business Month05:15 - Transitioning to New Perspectives08:46 - Overcoming Fear and Embracing Support11:55 - The Power of Relationships in Marketing13:55 - Gratitude and Reflection Thank you To Off the Grid for partnering on this series and believing in it before it existed. To every guest who gave me their time, their story, and their trust. To Queen Lex and Freddie Bam Fam, whose theme song I played every single day this month and still love I got my money's worth. To Emma McGoldrick for the cover art. And to you, for listening, sharing, buying, booking, and being nosey with me. Where to start if you're catching up There's a therapist in this series. A credit expert. A handyman. An economist. A woman who will take you to Ghana. A woman who will make you a swimsuit that fits. A bookstore for the dark fantasy girlies. Thats just a start, there is someone there for everyone! Go be somebody's first customer. Or their second. Or their five thousandth. All 31 episodes → noseyaf.com This series was supported by Off the Grid, a podcast for small business owners who want to leave social media without losing their clients. Find them at offthegrid.fun 🖤 Stay Connected 📬 Get the noseyAF Dispatch → Subscribe here 🏡 Grab the Good Neighbor Playbook → Download it free More ways to connect Email: [email protected] on IG: @stephaniegrahamListen to more episodes: noseyaf.com Support & Feedback noseyAF is listener-supported; thank you for being here. 💛🫶🏾 ⭐ Rate & Review the Show 📣 Share noseyAF with a friend who needs to hear this Episode Credits Produced, Hosted, and Edited by Stephanie Graham Lyrics: Queen Lex Instrumental: Freddie Bam Fam Cover Art: Emma McGoldrick

Ep 148: Serious Training for Everyday People with Sean Armstead of Phenomenal Fitness Part of noseyAF's 31 Days of Black Business series 🖤 He trained 33 people last Saturday. Starting at 4 in the morning. Sean Armstead is a former Marine Corps infantry officer who served in the Persian Gulf, and he's been running Phenomenal Fitness since 1997. The slogan hasn't changed in almost thirty years: serious training for everyday people. His whole book of business comes from referrals. He calls it old money. What We Talk About Successful aging, what it actually means, and why he's training you for the body you'll have at 70 rather than the one you had at 25The five pillars: structural integrity, movement skill, work capacity, body composition, and powerWhat it's really like your first day, and why he says if you get sick twenty minutes in, that's the trainer's faultThe unexpected turn: he started with no certification, no business background, and no idea what he was doing. A mentor kept telling him to burn the ship. If you love a conversation with somebody who's been doing it long enough to know, this episode is for you. Chapters: 00:13 - Reflecting on the Black Business Series04:49 - Building a Team: Lessons from 30 Years in Business12:35 - Transitioning to Entrepreneurship17:52 - Understanding Fitness and Aging38:01 - Engaging Clients: The Importance of Retention and Revenue44:47 - Building a Sustainable Business Model All about Sean Armstead You're gonna love Sean. He's a former Marine Corps infantry officer turned strength and conditioning coach who describes himself as a triple threat leader: know the way, go the way, show the way. He founded Phenomenal Fitness in 1997 and has been a brick and mortar gym owner since 1999, operating out of the South Loop. His model is semi-private training, which keeps sessions around $50 rather than the $120 to $130 that private training typically runs. He writes his first name in lowercase to remind himself of humility and gratitude. Things We Mentioned Phenomenal Fitness, South Loop Chicago → new website coming, with free exercise and programming contentSerious training for everyday people, the slogan since 1997The five pillars: structural integrity, movement skill, work capacity, body composition, powerThe four principles: mindset, muscle, metcon, modification of lifestyleSemi-private training, averaging $50 a session This series is supported by Off the Grid, a podcast for small business owners who want to leave social media without losing their clients. Find them at offthegrid.fun 🖤 Connect with Phenomenal Fitness WebsiteIG: @phenomenalfit1 Stay Connected 📬 Get the noseyAF Dispatch → Subscribe here 🏡 Grab the Good Neighbor Playbook → Download it free More ways to connect Email: [email protected] on IG: @stephaniegrahamListen to more episodes: noseyaf.com Support & Feedback noseyAF is listener-supported; thank you for being here. 💛🫶🏾 ⭐ Rate & Review the Show 📣 Share noseyAF with a friend who needs to hear this Episode Credits Produced, Hosted, and Edited by Stephanie Graham Lyrics: Queen Lex Instrumental: Freddie Bam Fam Cover Art: Emma McGoldrick

Ep 147: Vintage Is a Form of Luxury with Jennifer Kelly-Nichols of Vintage Frills Part of noseyAF's 31 Days of Black Business series 🖤 She was too scared to sign a lease, so she bought a short school bus and painted it pink instead. She'll tell you she cheated a little. Jennifer Kelly spent years as the logistical backbone at Chanel, Tiffany's, and Neiman Marcus before burning out during COVID. Now she runs Vintage Frills, a Chicago boutique organized entirely by color: a red room, a blue room, a neutrals room she called the dungeon in her business plan. People fly in from around the world to shop it. The pink bus is still running pop-ups. What We Talk About The difference between business and luxury business, and what luxury retail taught her about making people feel taken care ofWhere she actually sources: estate sales, not thrift stores, and why Hyde Park has the best ones in the cityHer honest advice for anyone about to open an online boutique, including the friend who researched herself out of ever startingThe unexpected turn: she says people move too fast and lose everything. She wanted Hyde Park first and didn't get it, and going slow is the reason she's still here five years later. If you love a conversation with somebody who tells you the truth about the hard parts, this episode is for you. Chapters: 00:06 - Introduction to the 31 Days of Black Business Series07:52 - Starting Vintage Frills: A Journey into Luxury Resale11:47 - The Transition to Entrepreneurship26:42 - The Art of Sourcing Vintage Luxury29:21 - Navigating the Challenges of Starting an Online Boutique37:44 - The Slow and Steady Journey of Business All about Jennifer Kelly You're gonna love Jennifer. She grew up around resale and retail and turned that into a career at some of the biggest luxury brands in the world before building her own. Vintage Frills hit five years this past July and has been recognized by American Express and Business Insider. She started with Vintage Fleet, a short school bus she painted pink and had graffiti'd, which still does pop-ups and, in her words, saves them from financial peril. She's a curvy cutie herself, so yes, there are plus sizes, and yes, she'll pull things from the back for you. Things We Mentioned Vintage Frills → https://www.vintagefrillschicago.com/Vintage Fleet, the pink school bus, still doing pop-ups including Logan Square Farmers Marketestatesales.net, where she sourcesAmerican Express and Business Insider features This series is supported by Off the Grid, a podcast for small business owners who want to leave social media without losing their clients. Find them at offthegrid.fun 🖤 Connect with Jennifer Kelly Website:https://www.vintagefrillschicago.com/IG: @vintagefrillsVisit Vintage Frills at 2846 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60618 Stay Connected 📬 Get the noseyAF Dispatch → Subscribe here 🏡 Grab the Good Neighbor Playbook → Download it free More ways to connect Email: [email protected] on IG: @stephaniegrahamListen to more episodes: noseyaf.com Support & Feedback noseyAF is listener-supported; thank you for being here. 💛🫶🏾 ⭐ Rate & Review the Show 📣 Share noseyAF with a friend who needs to hear this Episode Credits Produced, Hosted, and Edited by Stephanie Graham Lyrics: Queen Lex Instrumental: Freddie Bam Fam Cover Art: Emma McGoldrick

Ep 146: Your Customers Are Doing Economics Whether You Are or Not with Dr. Kristi-Warren Scott Bishop of Verity Consulting Part of noseyAF's 31 Days of Black Business series 🖤 She was going to call herself the corniest economist. Her friend said no, you're the baddest economist I know. She was terrified to use it. Her friend said do it scared. Dr. Kristi-Warren Scott Bishop is a PhD economist and the founder of Verity Consulting, which she launched in fall of 2025 after spending over a decade doing economics across the federal government. She started it because she was tired of watching businesses make what she could plainly see were bad decisions. What We Talk About What an economist actually does for a business, and why there's no wrong time to bring one in, whether you're just starting or something just feels offWhat supporting Black business actually looks like from an economic perspective, at both the micro and macro levelHow Hump Day Economics started, and why she couldn't find a credentialed economist explaining why the eggs cost what they costThe unexpected turn: she's not a subject matter expert in your field and doesn't try to be. She brings the tool. You bring the business. If you love a conversation that makes something big feel usable, this episode is for you. Chapters: 00:07 - Celebrating Black Business Month05:08 - Understanding Consumer Economics13:20 - Understanding the Role of Data in Consumer Behavior23:31 - Engaging Economists: Timing and Strategies for Entrepreneurs32:21 - Understanding Consumer Values in the Black Community46:34 - Transitioning to Business Insights All about Kristi Bishop You're gonna love Kristi. Dr. Kristi-Warren Scott Bishop translates how economics shows up in ordinary decisions, from why the gas tank waits until morning to why grocery prices feel different than the receipt says. Under the banner The Baddest Economist You Know, she turns ideas like present bias and revealed preference into weekly conversations her audience actually finishes watching. She's spent over a decade in federal economics work, including at the CDC and the Social Security Administration, and now runs Verity Consulting, a boutique economic consultancy helping consumer-facing organizations understand the economics driving their customers' behavior. Verity offers two tiers of monthly subscription with a three-month minimum, plus larger project engagements. Their first big one wrapped in April for a Black-owned spirits brand in Prince George's County. Things We Mentioned Verity Consulting → verityconsultingllc.com · [email protected] Day Economics, her weekly Instagram seriesCourtney Walden of Chicago Massage, her best friend and one of her clientsThe K-shaped economy, and what it explains about the airlines This series is supported by Off the Grid, a podcast for small business owners who want to leave social media without losing their clients. Find them at offthegrid.fun 🖤 Connect with Kristi Bishop Website: verityconsultingllc.comEmail: [email protected]: @verityecon Stay Connected 📬 Get the noseyAF Dispatch → Subscribe here 🏡 Grab the Good Neighbor Playbook → Download it free More ways to connect Email: [email protected] on IG: @stephaniegrahamListen to more episodes: noseyaf.com Support & Feedback noseyAF is listener-supported; thank you for being here. 💛🫶🏾 ⭐ Rate & Review the Show 📣 Share noseyAF with a friend who needs to hear this Episode Credits Produced, Hosted, and Edited by Stephanie Graham Lyrics: Queen Lex Instrumental: Freddie Bam Fam Cover Art: Emma McGoldrick

Ep 145: Leadership Without Burnout with Janelle Alba Garner of Tanglaw Advisory Part of noseyAF's 31 Days of Black Business series 🖤 How do you keep a mission alive without burning out the people carrying it? Janelle Alba Garner is the founder of Tanglaw Advisory. She spent years supporting founders doing genuinely great work and watched them sacrifice themselves to do it. She doesn't think that's the deal. Tanglaw is a Tagalog word meaning guiding light, and that's roughly the job. What We Talk About What regenerative leadership actually means, and why she shows up to meetings in a hoodie rather than a three-piece suitWhy an outside advisor hears things from your staff that you never will, and what that unlocksHow hard it is to slow down when everybody around you seems to be moving fasterThe unexpected turn: this is her third business, and the one that finally felt right started when a client made her dread Mondays until she remembered she could just fire her If you love a conversation about building something that doesn't cost you everything, this episode is for you. All about Janelle Alba Garner You're gonna love Janelle. She's a strategic advisor working on a version of social impact where organizations can sustain both the mission and the people serving it. Her point of view comes from a decade inside mission-driven organizations and from becoming a founder herself, which is how she learned what it costs to carry a mission that's outgrown the structure holding it. Alongside the advisory practice she runs Tanglaw Collective, the community and philanthropic arm, offering pro bono and low-cost support to community-based organizations on Chicago's South and West Sides: office hours, quarterly partnerships, workshops, monthly volunteer days, and resources. Things We Mentioned Tanglaw Advisory → tanglawadvisory.com · [email protected] Collective, the community armMonthly community volunteer days, third Saturday, with partner organizationsHer monthly small-group conversations on a single topic, unrecorded, open to whoever shows upShe's on LinkedIn, where she describes herself as yelling into the void about taking a lunch break This series is supported by Off the Grid, a podcast for small business owners who want to leave social media without losing their clients. Find them at offthegrid.fun 🖤 Connect with Janelle Alba Garner Website: tanglawadvisory.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janelle-jasmine/ Stay Connected 📬 Get the noseyAF Dispatch → Subscribe here 🏡 Grab the Good Neighbor Playbook → Download it free More ways to connect Email: [email protected] on IG: @stephaniegrahamListen to more episodes: noseyaf.com Support & Feedback noseyAF is listener-supported; thank you for being here. 💛🫶🏾 ⭐ Rate & Review the Show 📣 Share noseyAF with a friend who needs to hear this Episode Credits Produced, Hosted, and Edited by Stephanie Graham Lyrics: Queen Lex Instrumental: Freddie Bam Fam Cover Art: Emma McGoldrick

Ep 144: Ten Toes Down and Chasing Goals with Rob Marley of Stay Focus Society Part of noseyAF's 31 Days of Black Business series 🖤 Self-motivated. Determination. Commitment. Those are the three stars on the logo, and they're not decoration. Rob Marley was going through the worst of it around 2010. No support system, no outlet. He kept telling himself two words to get through the day, and then figured a whole community of people probably needed them too. He didn't know graphic design or computers. He started by painting the words on t-shirts by hand. What We Talk About The trip that started it: he got on the bus at 119th, rode downtown to an art school he'd never seen, and asked strangers for directions the whole wayWhat happened when he tried to sell his first shirts to family and friends, and what Instagram taught him about who his customers actually wereWhy he says be careful who you tell your ideas to, and what a real community around your business looks like insteadThe unexpected turn: he's building a workout community now too, running activations in the park, because losing his focus physically taught him something about keeping it everywhere else If you love origin stories that don't skip the scary parts, this episode is for you. All about Rob Marley You're gonna love Rob. He's a father, a creator, and a visionary who built a Chicago clothing line on focus, positivity, and persistence. He had a Hyde Park store from late 2019 through early 2024, which means he opened it weeks before the pandemic and kept it going anyway. He's spent years doing pop-ups and meeting people directly, block by block, in West Pullman, Chatham, South Shore, and Pilsen. He's now relocating to a new appointment-only showroom called 5113, with a new website to match. Things We Mentioned Stay Focus Society5113, the new appointment-only showroom, coming soonThe goal chasing shirtHis coat drive, collecting coats, hoodies, socks, and hatsHis upcoming workout activation in the park This series is supported by Off the Grid, a podcast for small business owners who want to leave social media without losing their clients. Find them at offthegrid.fun 🖤 Connect with Rob Marley IG: @robmarley_stayfocussocietyWebsite Stay Connected 📬 Get the noseyAF Dispatch → Subscribe here 🏡 Grab the Good Neighbor Playbook → Download it free More ways to connect Email: [email protected] on IG: @stephaniegrahamListen to more episodes: noseyaf.com Support & Feedback noseyAF is listener-supported; thank you for being here. 💛🫶🏾 ⭐ Rate & Review the Show 📣 Share noseyAF with a friend who needs to hear this Episode Credits Produced, Hosted, and Edited by Stephanie Graham Lyrics: Queen Lex Instrumental: Freddie Bam Fam Cover Art: Emma McGoldrick

Ep 143: Coaching Is Not a Meritocracy with Serena Hicks Part of noseyAF's 31 Days of Black Business series 🖤 Heads up: this conversation touches on grief and family loss right up front. You might have a life coach. Your life coach also has a life coach. Serena is who the coaches call. Serena Hicks got pushed out of a corporate job at 40. Two weeks later her older brother died of cancer, thirteen months from diagnosis. She was broke, grieving, and living paycheck to paycheck after what she calls a phenomenal career. Then she found coaching. She's made over $3 million in the six years since, and $400,000 of that came before she was ever certified. What We Talk About How she found her first coach by Googling "how do you know how to charge people," and what she said to get in the door with $1,500 she barely hadWhy the low barrier of entry into coaching is a feature, not a bug, and what she thinks would happen if it required a licenseWhy 85% of coaches are doing consultations wrong, and what a container actually isThe unexpected turn: she filed bankruptcy in 2008 and thought it disqualified her from being a business coach. Then she realized it's exactly why she's good at it. If you love a conversation with somebody who will tell you the whole truth about money, this episode is for you. All about Serena Hicks You're gonna love Serena. She's a business coach who mostly coaches other coaches, and she's direct in a way that's rare on this subject. She'll tell you her private coaching is $20K and her programs start at $3,000. She'll tell you she borrowed from family who didn't understand what she was doing. She'll tell you people default on payment plans and that's just part of it. Her whole philosophy: business as a game to play and a spiritual experience, not a scoreboard where revenue decides whether you're successful. She helps people recognize how good they already are and then monetize it. Things We Mentioned serenahicks.com — spelled like the tennis playerConsultation Closer Camp, her program on sales calls and discovery callsThe Life Coach School and the modelAbraham Hicks, no relation, but an early influenceHer book in progress, about her father's brain injury and the legal fight that followed Chapters: 00:22 - Celebrating Black Business Month: An Entrepreneur's Journey00:57 - Turning Points: From Grief to Growth21:01 - The Journey into Coaching23:31 - Exploring Money Mindset and Its Implications33:00 - The Journey of Business Coaching: From Bankruptcy to Empowerment This series is supported by Off the Grid, a podcast for small business owners who want to leave social media without losing their clients. Find them at offthegrid.fun 🖤 Connect with Serena Hicks Website: serenahicks.comIG: @xoxoserenahicks Stay Connected 📬 Get the noseyAF Dispatch → Subscribe here 🏡 Grab the Good Neighbor Playbook → Download it free More ways to connect Email: [email protected] on IG: @stephaniegrahamListen to more episodes: noseyaf.com Support & Feedback noseyAF is listener-supported; thank you for being here. 💛🫶🏾 ⭐ Rate & Review the Show 📣 Share noseyAF with a friend who needs to hear this Episode Credits Produced, Hosted, and Edited by Stephanie Graham Lyrics: Queen Lex Instrumental: Freddie Bam Fam Cover Art: Emma McGoldrick

Ep 142: Sustainable Swimwear That Actually Fits with Tiffany Asamoah of BOLD Swim Part of noseyAF's 31 Days of Black Business series 🖤 She went looking for a swimsuit before a vacation. Nothing past a size large. Nobody in the marketing looked like her. Tiffany Asamoah found a tailor, watched her make one, and started asking better questions. BOLD Swim is sustainable swimwear designed to fit and feel good in and out of the water, and it's since expanded into underwear, accessories, and a scarf collection with an exclusive print. She's been in Madewell, Macy's online, and Walmart online. What We Talk About What sustainability actually means in manufacturing, what greenwashing looks like, and why a four dollar shirt costs somebody somethingWhy there's a size ten and a twelve but never an eleven, and what it takes technically to change thatHow her customers taught her the swimwear was also underwear and shapewear, and how that changed the brandThe unexpected turn: the biggest thing new business owners get wrong is thinking the website and the product are the business If you love a conversation that changes how you shop, this episode is for you. All about Tiffany Asamoah You're gonna love Tiffany. She's a former child model turned sustainable fashion founder, a yogi, and a July Fourth baby who grew up with a pool in the backyard. She came up through a corporate sales and leadership career before starting BOLD Swim, and she built the brand around a simple standard: as many bodies as possible, materials that aren't chemically treated, and a supply chain she can actually account for. Her Substack documents the unglossy version of founding a swimwear company. Things We Mentioned BOLD SwimHer Substack, on the misadventures of a swimwear founderTheir Instagram, restarted after the original got hackedLaw Roach on repeating outfitsUN sustainability goals for the fashion industryAvailable at Madewell, Macy's online, Walmart online, and retailers in the UK Chapters: 00:00 - Introduction to the Black Business Month Series00:43 - Tiffany Asamoah and Bold Swim: A Journey into Sustainable Fashion11:26 - The Journey of Bold Swim: From Concept to Reality16:38 - The Evolution of Swimwear Design22:34 - Representation in Fashion: A New Approach to Inclusivity34:07 - The Journey of Entrepreneurship42:46 - Sustainable Fashion: The Impact of Consumer Behavior44:22 - Sustainable Fashion Practices This series is supported by Off the Grid, a podcast for small business owners who want to leave social media without losing their clients. Find them at offthegrid.fun 🖤 Connect with Tiffany Asamoah Website: www.BOLDSwim.comIG: @bold_swimSubstack Stay Connected 📬 Get the noseyAF Dispatch → Subscribe here 🏡 Grab the Good Neighbor Playbook → Download it free More ways to connect Email: [email protected] on IG: @stephaniegrahamListen to more episodes: noseyaf.com Support & Feedback noseyAF is listener-supported; thank you for being here. 💛🫶🏾 ⭐ Rate & Review the Show 📣 Share noseyAF with a friend who needs to hear this Episode Credits Produced, Hosted, and Edited by Stephanie Graham Lyrics: Queen Lex Instrumental: Freddie Bam Fam Cover Art: Emma McGoldrick

Ep 141: Split Ends Are the Devil with Charita Golden of Golden Tresses Part of noseyAF's 31 Days of Black Business series 🖤 She wants you to love the hair you have, not the hair you wish you had. Charita Golden is the natural hairstylist behind Golden Tresses here in Chicago, and full disclosure, she is my actual hairstylist. So I went into this a little nervous, because if I mess it up I still have to go sit in her chair. She's been natural for over 25 years, since before it was a movement, and she's been in somebody's hair since she was about ten. What We Talk About The hair myth she wants dead: that you don't need your ends trimmed. No product is going to do the work a haircut does.How to tell which hair advice on social media is for you, and the one thing to check before you try anything you saw in a videoWhy your relationship with your stylist should be a partnership, and what happens when either side treats the other like the helpWhy she won't put a relaxer in anybody's hair, ever, and what she says to clients who askThe unexpected turn: her advice to young stylists isn't about technique at all. It's customer service, and she'll tell you why mediocre stylists stay booked while talented ones can't keep a client. If you love a conversation that changes how you take care of yourself, this episode is for you. All about Charita Golden You're gonna love Charita. She's a Chicago native, a mother, a licensed natural hair care professional, and an educator. She comes from a long line of women with natural hair down their backs, and she's been braiding and pressing since she was a kid because her mama kept sending her little sister outside with ratty ponytails. She didn't go pro until her thirties, and now she specializes in natural hair because she wants there to be a space that's actually built for it. She wants us to let our hair be great in its own lane, technical term texture, and she wants us to love hard on it rather than tolerate it. Things We Mentioned Golden Tresses → book at goldentresses.booksy.comHer advice on hair videos: only take it if the hair looks like yours when it's wetThe word "nappy," and why she says naps are just curls that haven't been combedSatin bonnets, satin-lined hoods, and the satin roller she wishes she'd invented Chapters: 00:07 - Introduction to the 31 Days of Black Business Series04:08 - Understanding Natural Hair Care09:34 - Understanding Hair Care Misconceptions19:45 - The Complexity of Natural Hair Care29:35 - Customer Service in the Beauty Industry40:54 - Embracing Natural Beauty: A Conversation on Hair Care and Self-Love This series is supported by Off the Grid, a podcast for small business owners who want to leave social media without losing their clients. Find them at offthegrid.fun 🖤 Connect with Charita Golden Book an consultation or appointment: goldentresses.booksy.com Stay Connected 📬 Get the noseyAF Dispatch → Subscribe here 🏡 Grab the Good Neighbor Playbook → Download it free More ways to connect Email: [email protected] on IG: @stephaniegrahamListen to more episodes: noseyaf.com Support & Feedback noseyAF is listener-supported; thank you for being here. 💛🫶🏾 ⭐ Rate & Review the Show 📣 Share noseyAF with a friend who needs to hear this Episode Credits Produced, Hosted, and Edited by Stephanie Graham Lyrics: Queen Lex Instrumental: Freddie Bam Fam Cover Art: Emma McGoldrick

Ep 140: Private Investing Is Not What You Think with Victoria Watkins of Inrichmint Part of noseyAF's 31 Days of Black Business series 🖤 I learned a new term recording this one: family office. I was today years old. Victoria Watkins is a lawyer and the founder of inrichmint, where she helps people invest in companies that aren't on the stock market. She'll tell you private investing is not the gated thing you think it is, and that your friend's flower shop counts. She's also the author of Little Valarie and Her Big World of Options and runs Joy and Magic Tea. What We Talk About Private investing explained from the beginning, including what a friends and family round is and what "sweat equity" actually meansWhat a family office is, why the structures are attainable for way more people than think they qualify, and who should have oneWhy she watches American Greed as informal due diligence trainingThe unexpected turn: she went to law school to become a fashion lawyer, ended up in the mayor's office, then became chief of staff at a mutual fund company If you love a conversation that hands you the keys, this episode is for you. All about Victoria Watkins You're gonna love Victoria. She's a multi-hyphenate who has always had more than one thing going, and she'll tell you why: we should all have more than one source of income, and she doesn't want to get to the end having left anything in her. Founder of inrichmint, where she and her business partner bridge investors and privately held companies, she came up through the Illinois House Democrats legal team, the Emanuel administration, and four years as chief of staff at Ariel Investments. She still writes, which is how Little Valarie and Her Big World of Options happened, named for her mother and inspired by watching the 2016 Olympics. Things We Mentioned InrichmintLittle Valarie and Her Big World of Options (afflliate link)Joy and Magic TeaRachel Gadson of ILA Creative Studio, her illustratorAmerican Greed, her informal due diligence educationPastor Mike Todd and "I'm going to die empty" Chapters: 00:07 - Introduction to Black Entrepreneurship00:59 - Transitioning to Private Investing23:22 - Understanding Family Offices and Their Importance34:20 - The Importance of Networking in Entrepreneurship39:15 - Introducing Little Valarie and Her Journey This series is supported by Off the Grid, a podcast for small business owners who want to leave social media without losing their clients. Find them at offthegrid.fun 🖤 Connect with Victoria Watkins Website: https://inrichmint.com/Her blog, which has tutorials on family office structuresTiktok InstagramYouTube Stay Connected 📬 Get the noseyAF Dispatch → Subscribe here 🏡 Grab the Good Neighbor Playbook → Download it free More ways to connect Email: [email protected] on IG: @stephaniegrahamListen to more episodes: noseyaf.com Support & Feedback noseyAF is listener-supported; thank you for being here. 💛🫶🏾 ⭐ Rate & Review the Show 📣 Share noseyAF with a friend who needs to hear this Episode Credits Produced, Hosted, and Edited by Stephanie Graham Lyrics: Queen Lex Instrumental: Freddie Bam Fam Cover Art: Emma McGoldrick

Ep 139: Your Credit Report Shows Your Stress with Cierra Michelle Jones of The Credit School Part of noseyAF's 31 Days of Black Business series 🖤 She got denied on her first house, couldn't afford a credit repair company, and went to Google instead. She calls herself her own first client. Cierra Michelle Jones is the Founder and Executive Director of The Credit School. She joined the Army at 17, spent years running from her credit problems, and got denied and scammed trying to buy a house in 2015. Now she has zero debt except her house and her car, and she's teaching millennial families and underserved communities how she did it. What We Talk About Why the biggest military misconception is that you're automatically set, and what actually happens after the bonus is spentWhat she can see on a credit report that has nothing to do with numbers, including your stress spendingWhy credit repair takes 18 months and not 30 days, and how to spot someone who doesn't know what they're talking aboutThe unexpected turn: an election year is the best year to buy a house, and here's why If you love a conversation that hands you something you can actually use, this episode is for you. All about Cierra Michelle Jones You're gonna love Cierra. She's a self-described bookworm and history buff who reads financial news like other people read gossip. She's the Founder and Executive Director of The Credit School, helping millennial families and underserved communities demystify credit education and build toward home ownership and generational wealth. A retired Army veteran and single mom, she built the platform after learning the hard way that the problem isn't a lack of effort, it's a lack of clarity. She's the author of The Military Credit Blueprint, with more books and a children's book featuring Penny the Pig and Sam the Scammer on the way. Her whole thing: she made the hard mistakes so you don't have to. Things We Mentioned The Credit School → IG @thecreditschool · TikTok @thecreditschooloneThe Military Credit Blueprint, her book (affiliate link)The Color of Law, on redlining and Black home ownership (affiliate link)The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and why to watch what happens to itArnita Johnson-Hall, her credit coach, and the Credit Consultants AssociationClass action settlements, which she says are worth checking your junk folder for also check classaction.org and the consumer database.Debt Free Gonna Be, for student loan news Chapters: 00:09 - Introduction to Black Business Month03:42 - The Journey to Financial Empowerment26:24 - Understanding Credit Challenges32:53 - Understanding Financial Choices and the Pressure of Appearance42:09 - Expertise and Growth in Business This series is supported by Off the Grid, a podcast for small business owners who want to leave social media without losing their clients. Find them at offthegrid.fun 🖤 Connect with Cierra Michelle Jones IG and Threads: @thecreditschoolTikTok: @thecreditschoolone Stay Connected 📬 Get the noseyAF Dispatch → Subscribe here 🏡 Grab the Good Neighbor Playbook → Download it free More ways to connect Email: [email protected] on IG: @stephaniegrahamListen to more episodes: noseyaf.com Support & Feedback noseyAF is listener-supported; thank you for being here. 💛🫶🏾 ⭐ Rate & Review the Show 📣 Share noseyAF with a friend who needs to hear this Episode Credits Produced, Hosted, and Edited by Stephanie Graham Lyrics: Queen Lex Instrumental: Freddie Bam Fam Cover Art: Emma McGoldrick

Ep 138: Two Introverts Built a Wine Bar on the South Side with Charlette Stanton and Jacare Thomas of Park Manor 75 Part of noseyAF's 31 Days of Black Business series 🖤 Recorded live on Lumpen Radio 105.5 FM on August 21, 2026. No edits, no retakes. What happens when the people who've spent decades bringing everybody together finally create a place of their own? Charlette Stanton and Jacare Thomas met as teenagers and have been building community for more than two decades: social clubs, arts organizations, events, trips. Now that's a physical space. Park Manor 75 is a Black-owned wine and charcuterie bar on 75th Street, and they call it a third space, and they mean it. What We Talk About Why they say the business plan is the thing you avoid because you're afraid of what it'll reveal, and why you should write it anywayHow they found the building on a whim, in pajamas, and closed on it within thirty daysWhat they wish they'd known in 2003, when an alderman told them no and they took no for an answerThe unexpected turn: SSAs, and why where you spend your money decides which neighborhoods get street cleaning, lights, and beautification If you love a conversation about what it actually takes to open a door, this episode is for you. All about Charlette Stanton and Jacare Thomas You're gonna love these two. A husband-and-wife team of 23 years who are both, improbably, introverts. Charlette runs operations, Jacare runs strategy and community engagement, and their whole approach is asking people what they want to do and then figuring out how the space can serve it. The bar is two rooms: the Park is light and open, the Manor is a dark speakeasy in the back. As Charlette puts it, you can have your grandma in the front and your boo in the back. Things We Mentioned Park Manor 75 → parkmanor75.com · @parkmanor75 on all socialsNoir Urban Arts Collective and See Black Social Club, their earlier venturesThe Neighborhood Opportunity Fund, the City of Chicago grant that helped fund the buildSSAs, or Special Service Areas, and why they matter for neighborhood developmentSensory Oasis with DJ Dave Mays, monthly on SundaysWhat to order: the Park Manor (lamb sausage and Italian beef with mild sauce), the Greek Town if you don't eat meat, the collard green dip, and the sweet potato hummusThe Inner Guide podcast, which you heard during the break Chapters: 00:00 - Introduction to the Episode01:11 - The Journey to Community Building and Entrepreneurship13:56 - Navigating the Challenges of Business Planning28:34 - The Importance of Mentorship36:40 - The Journey to Owning a Business48:31 - Community Engagement and Business Synergy56:01 - Navigating Community and Business Relationships This series is supported by Off the Grid, a podcast for small business owners who want to leave social media without losing their clients. Find them at offthegrid.fun 🖤 Connect with Park Manor 75 Website: parkmanor75.comIG and TikTok: @parkmanor75 Stay Connected 📬 Get the noseyAF Dispatch → Subscribe here 🏡 Grab the Good Neighbor Playbook → Download it free More ways to connect Email: [email protected] on IG: @stephaniegrahamListen to more episodes: noseyaf.com Support & Feedback noseyAF is listener-supported; thank you for being here. 💛🫶🏾 ⭐ Rate & Review the Show 📣 Share noseyAF with a friend who needs to hear this Episode Credits Produced, Hosted, and Edited by Stephanie Graham Lyrics: Queen Lex Instrumental: Freddie Bam Fam Cover Art: Emma McGoldrick

Ep 137: Not Everybody's Life Is a Movie Scene with Adrienne Randle of Evryday Blk Magazine Part of noseyAF's 31 Days of Black Business series 🖤 Not everybody's life is a movie scene. That's the whole idea. Adrienne Randle founded Evryday Blk Magazine, a bi-monthly publication in digital and print, because she wanted something that felt good to read. No gossip, no trauma, no celebrity culture. Just four-generation Black farms, a man who chases waterfalls, and the small local film festivals nobody's covering. It's the next chapter of her Black Owned Business Shopping Guide, which ran from 2023 to 2025, featured 1,175 businesses, and pulled over 3 million views. What We Talk About Why she's a boundary queen: no work on weekends, no work at night, period, and how burnout at year five taught her thatHow she collaborates with other Black-owned businesses, why she pays them, and why "if you don't ask, the answer is no" is her whole approachDigital blackfacing, what it is, and how she verifies that every business in the magazine is actually Black-ownedThe unexpected turn: her doomsday case for physical media, and why she wants Black books, CDs, and magazines in the house for when the grid pops If you love a conversation about building something on your own terms, this episode is for you. All about Adrienne Randle You're gonna love Adrienne. She's a whole ball of joy, and she'll tell you if she doesn't have a smile on her face she's not leaving the house. A creative advertising grad and product-based business owner since 2014, she built Addy Rawr into a brand that sold over 100,000 products, including 10,000 journals. Her design mantra: people don't know how it was supposed to look at the end. Now she's putting that same energy into a magazine that goes straight to the source instead of the celebrity. Things We Mentioned Evryday Blk Magazine, free digital subscription and print available for purchaseThe Black Owned Business Shopping Guide, 2023 to 2025, 1,175 businessesAddy Rawr, her artist name and previous brandThe magazine is self-funded, and there's a donation button on the site. A $10 monthly or $50 one-time contribution goes toward stock photos, software, printing, and eventually paying writers. Chapters: 00:07 - Introduction to Black Business00:33 - Introducing Adrienne Randall and Evryday Blk Magazine05:42 - The Journey of Creativity and Business13:05 - The Importance of Collaboration in Entrepreneurship16:36 - The Importance of Work-Life Balance for Entrepreneurs26:51 - Highlighting Everyday Stories32:00 - The Importance of Representation and Transparency in Media37:46 - The Importance of Authentic Representation in Black Media41:44 - Future of Evryday Blk Magazine This series is supported by Off the Grid, a podcast for small business owners who want to leave social media without losing their clients. Find them at offthegrid.fun 🖤 Connect with Adrienne Randle Website and subscriptionIG: @addirerawr Stay Connected 📬 Get the noseyAF Dispatch → Subscribe here 🏡 Grab the Good Neighbor Playbook → Download it free More ways to connect Email: [email protected] on IG: @stephaniegrahamListen to more episodes: noseyaf.com Support & Feedback noseyAF is listener-supported; thank you for being here. 💛🫶🏾 ⭐ Rate & Review the Show 📣 Share noseyAF with a friend who needs to hear this Episode Credits Produced, Hosted, and Edited by Stephanie Graham Lyrics: Queen Lex Instrumental: Freddie Bam Fam Cover Art: Emma McGoldrick