Everyone’s gotten that phone call or that request from a girlfriend or a family member, asking you to do that thing you’re good at — whether it’s making a birthday cake or offering legal advice — but now is the time to turn it into something for yourself.
That’s the advice rapper and entrepreneur MC Lyte, financial coach Dr. Lynn Richardson and financial executive Ingrid LaVon Woolfolk brought to Essence Festival’s E Suite. The trio teamed up to talk about the value in finding what you’re good at and then turning it into new ways to enrich — and empower — yourself.
“Everybody has a passion,” Woolfolk said. “You can profit from your passion… Your friends should be investing in you.”
Woolfolk offered three steps to getting there: Identify what your true talent is, create your own lane, then figure out what you’re built for.
MC Lyte said advice from Woolfolk and Richardson, in addition to her own entrepreneurial team, has helped her solidify her various businesses.
“It’s one thing to have this beautiful facade of a business,” she said, “but it’s another thing to have a structure and a strategy behind it.”
And, when you need help, it’s time to ask for it, Richardson advised.
“Understand this: Everybody has either had a money problem, is having a money problem or will have a money problem at some time,” she said. “So, have no shame.”