Sanya Hudson-Payne was born and raised in Brooklyn New York and from early on had dreams of being in the world of celebrity entertainment.

Three years ago, she launched her own media company; SHE (Sanya Hudson Enterprises) a platform that normalizes the celebrity experience through her podcast (which is also a syndicated show on the dial in Houston and Georgia) where she interviews influential from celebrities from television, film, fashion, beauty, books, and business and in covering media for celebrity events.

• CEO Hack: Canva to create digital flyers and brochures
• CEO Nugget: (1) Trust the process (2) Be patient
• CEO Defined: Ability to create

Website: http://www.she.company/

IG: Sanya_OnAir
FB: Sanya On-Air and Sanya Hudson-Payne
Twitter: Sanya On-Air

FULL INTERVIEW

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Transcription:

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Intro 0:02

Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview?

If so, you've come to the right place. Gresham Harkless values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of.

This is the I AM CEO Podcast.

Gresham Harkless 0:29

Hello, hello, hello. This is Gresham from the I AM CEO Podcast and I have a very special guest on the show today. I've Sanya Hudson-Payne of sanyahudsonenterprises.com.

Sanya, it's awesome to have you on the show.

Sanya Hudson-Payne 0:41

Thank you for having me. I'm really excited for you to pick my brain for me to give some encouraging advice to whoever's listening, and to just connect the conversation.

Gresham Harkless 0:52

Yeah, absolutely. Super excited to have you on and I know we'll get tremendous value. So what I want to do to start everything out was read a little bit more about Sanya so you can hear about all the awesome things that she's doing. And Sanya was born and raised in Brooklyn New York and from early on had dreams of being in the world of celebrity entertainment.

Three years ago, she launched her own media company; SHE which stands for Sanya Hudson Enterprises a platform that normalizes the celebrity experience through her podcast which is also a syndicated show on the dial in Houston and Georgia where she interviews influential people from celebrities from television, film, fashion, beauty, books, and business and in covering media for celebrity events. Sanya, are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?

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Sanya Hudson-Payne 1:38

Yes, it's so weird you reading that. I'm like, Who is he talking about? Me.

Gresham Harkless 1:44

It's always fun to have the tables turned to have podcasters on this so that, you know, I can ask the questions of them that they're usually always asking them everybody else.

Sanya Hudson-Payne 1:52

Yeah.

Gresham Harkless 1:52

Yeah. So awesome, awesome, awesome. So I wanted to kick everything off by asking you for what I call your CEO story. What led you to start your business?

Sanya Hudson-Payne 2:00

What led me to start my business, I lost everything. I lost everything moving to Florida I believe it was 2007, there was a hurricane, Category Five. And I lost everything besides the clothing on my back. And I said now that I have absolutely nothing, no place to live, no place to basically do anything, how am I going to recreate my life the way that I want to?

So with nothing but a candle, a real candle, a pen, and a piece of paper, I started to map out where I wanted to see my life. And I started off by writing my first novel called The Seasons of Love. And then it just grew into this whole media company called Sanya Hudson Enterprises or SHE

Gresham Harkless 2:48

Nice. So obviously sorry to hear you know, that happened. But I always usually say that things happen, you know, for reasons. And you always hear that sometimes you have to hit rock bottom, you never want an essay hit rock bottom, but it definitely sounds like that might have been you know, the experience that you have. But you're able to kind of show a lot of courage and show a lot of strength to be able to kind of paint the picture that you want for your life and actually execute on that.

Sanya Hudson-Payne 3:11

Yeah, I take every type of experience, whether it be good or bad. But if it's a bad experience, I say how can I turn this into something positive and into something good. So something positive was recreating my life? Under my own terms the way that I wanted to? And I'm happy that I did.

Gresham Harkless 3:31

Yeah, absolutely. And definitely happy that you did as well, too, because you're on the show. So definitely, you know, blessed to have you here for that. So I wanted to drill down a little bit deeper here more about SHE could you tell us a little bit more about what you're doing to help support clients?

Sanya Hudson-Payne 3:43

Sure. As a kid, I was one of those children always glued to the television whenever I had free time between dance class and school track practice. And I always looked at people on television but never saw anyone who looked like me. So when I lost everything in the hurricane, I asked myself, What would I do for free because it is a passion of mine?

And I wanted to tap into all the people that I saw on television and then film and read about in the books. And I said, You know what, they're probably just like me. So how can I find a way to normalize them as celebrities so that other people know that they're just like them, too? So that's exactly what I did I tapped into the celebrity experience, and I normalized it.

Gresham Harkless 4:29

Yeah, you know, what's so funny is that I always find you know, whether I'm doing these interviews, or you're reading people's bios or hearing what they're doing, sometimes whether they're celebrities, or athletes or whatever, they're kind of on this quote-unquote, pedestal that you forget that they put on their pants, just like you want one leg at a time. And they you know, they have favorite foods and they have bad days. They have good days. They're just as normal as everybody else. So it's kind of great that you're tapping into that.

Sanya Hudson-Payne 4:53

Yes, because we have so many people who aspire to be let's say a celebrity, but they don't know how out. And when I provide tangible tips and tools, it's so easy. They're like, okay, I could do that too, if I persevere, put in some hard work, and formed the right network. So I really give them tools as to how they can be just like them. And even better.

Gresham Harkless 5:16

Yeah, absolutely. Which is always kind of a goal. But I love the fact too, because a lot of times you see somebody that has that celebrity status, or, you know, that wealth status, or whatever that might be that, you know, success looks like, you know, from that person, but sometimes you forget that it's not a linear path, it there have ups and downs as bad things happen. And sometimes if you don't get the opportunity to hear that story, you would never know that.

Sanya Hudson-Payne 5:38

Exactly, exactly. You know, just to talk about a fun conversation that I had. Oscar-nominated comedian Lunel. I recently spoke with her about two weeks ago, she was scheduled for this interview, and she called in, let's say, 30 minutes late. I'm like, Okay, well know what happened. And she said, listen, something happened, that happens to everyone. I have stomach problems. But I was glad that she was transparent and shared that because people don't think that you know, you have stomach issues, and you're running to the bathroom

Gresham Harkless 6:12

You are a celebrity, you can't have that

Sanya Hudson-Payne 6:15

She had the same type of problem that we have as well.

Gresham Harkless 6:19

Yeah, that makes sense. So that definitely, you know, humanizes it and I find to love to let me know, if you find the same thing that a lot of times when you hear things like that, it makes a better, stronger connection. Because sometimes when you have people you know, you reached that level, quote, unquote, whatever success looks like. But a lot of times when you are humanized.

And you understand that that person is just like me, they go through struggles, they have stomach problems, or whatever it might be, you know, they become a lot more authentic and connected.

Sanya Hudson-Payne 6:47

And another incident, I also want to shed light on there was another celebrity actor, I just interviewed, and he just got out of prison after doing five years for being falsely accused of sexual abuse. And what his story was, is that it didn't even matter that he can be seen on television and that he was this celebrity.

All they saw was this human being. And they didn't even understand nor believe his story, and he was incarcerated. And they took him from the car as his children sat in the backseat. So it really normalized him as a celebrity to say, even though I have the celebrity title, I still went through this ordeal just like everybody else.

Gresham Harkless 7:30

Yeah, absolutely, definitely, you know, humanizes, you know, things and helps people to kind of understand that you know, there's ups and downs in life for everybody, not just, you know, celebrities or non-celebrities, literally everybody you know, has things that you have to go through.

So it's great to kind of hear you've created the plan by which people can execute to kind of do that and do that at a better level, at a better level, as you said, as well. So now, I wanted to ask you for what I call your secret sauce. And this could be for you or your organization. But what do you feel kind of sets you apart and makes you unique?

Sanya Hudson-Payne 8:03

What sets me apart and unique is I am a 46-year-old black woman who will mediate and Hollywood says is archaic and done and doesn't have a voice. But yet, it's still I created my own table. And I invite people to sit down.

Gresham Harkless 8:20

Nice, absolutely love that. And I love that I'm really from the essence of entrepreneurship. But also, as you definitely have shown, with all these platforms and tools that we have, everybody has a voice because you have the opportunity to create your own table, you don't have to go sit at necessarily at this specific table, you create your own table, because there are tools at our disposal to kind of do that.

Sanya Hudson-Payne 8:41

Yeah, and we see it happen all the time in Hollywood, being black, and also being female, that is a presence and a voice that is often minimized, even when I talk to the celebrities who are black actresses, and how much they have to compete against one another how much Hollywood tells them that their career is over at just the age of 35. So I just want to be purposeful and intentional in my conversations and provide a platform to show that you can be 65 years old as a woman and still have a plate at the table.

Gresham Harkless 9:15

Yeah, absolutely. And a lot of times you need people that are, you know, dedicating your life just as you are to, you know, being able to provide, you know, insight and visibility to the people that are able to do that and to understand and provide, you know, a lot of encouragement to other people and other women that feel like that's the end but in reality, it's not the end because I just heard you know, you know, somebody else is able to do that.

Sanya Hudson-Payne 9:37

Yeah, and it doesn't make it easier. I had one Hollywood agent who immediately just tried to change everything about me from the way that I spoke to the way that I dressed and I had to remain confident and know what my value and my worth is and give her a resounding no even though she has multiple Emmys. I wanted to make sure that I was creating this space, not only for a temporary fix but for a lifetime, because there are children going up who need to see this.

Gresham Harkless 10:07

I wanted to switch gears a little bit and ask you for what I call a CEO hack. And this might be an app or book or a habit that you have. But it's something that makes you more effective and efficient.

Sanya Hudson-Payne 10:16

As well, an app that I definitely use is Canva. And it really helps me create professional fliers and marketing documents, we live in this whole digital space. And I'm a talker and an influencer. But I didn't really have the digital space pack, because social media is so huge. But Canva is such an easy type of platform to create these flyers and brochures, and you don't have to outsource and pay anyone else.

So initially, I'm noticing how, let's say a flyer that I might have created two years ago, I love to see how Canva has helped me grow. And it wasn't even by me sitting in front of a teacher in a class Canva really shows you how to perfect and hone in on the digital space and create those digital flyers.

Gresham Harkless 11:10

Yeah, absolutely. And Canva allows you to definitely, you know, create, you know, different sizes of whatever you want. So whether it be a flyer, as you mentioned, or you're trying to create something on Facebook or Instagram post, you're trying to figure out what the sizes are, you can just basically plug it in and have templates. And it does it for you. essentially.

Sanya Hudson-Payne 11:26

Exactly, like will keep all that money in my pocket, now.

Gresham Harkless 11:29

There you go invest it someplace else. I absolutely love that. So now let me ask you for what I call a CEO nugget. And this is a word of wisdom or piece of advice. Or if you can happen to be a time machine, what would you tell your younger business self?

Sanya Hudson-Payne 11:42

I would tell someone who is trying to tap into this space to trust the process. Don't put timelines on anything, just trust the process. I believe that anything that is for you will be put in front of you. You just have to trust the process and not measure it up against what anyone else is doing. You have your own timeline. You are the author and creator of your own timeline. Be patient and trust the process.

Gresham Harkless 12:11

Absolutely. I love that trust the process and understand that there is a process because I think a lot of times in this social media environments, especially we have this, what this microwave expectation, we put something in it comes back out in about 30 seconds, and it's hot and ready to eat. That doesn't always happen. So understand that there is a process as well.

Sanya Hudson-Payne 12:30

Yeah. And even in my line of questioning with celebrities, I'm asking them, how has the genre of Hollywood and entertainment changed now that you're competing against social media influencers? And one thing that really resonated as a common denominator for all of the celebrities is that people need to know and understand that these social media influencers may be temporary, maybe temporary, because you have people who have been doing it for so many years and even though they may be overshadowed right next up the guard.

So I liked that they gave us they gave me that word of advice as well as social media influencers. It's only temporary. So trust the process.

Gresham Harkless 13:15

Yeah, I absolutely love that. And there's this, Michael Gladwell has his 10,000 hours where you have to put 10,000 hours in and you know, always say there are things like smoke and mirrors. So sometimes you have the people that have, you know, 10,000 followers, you know, 30,000, follow whatever, but they aren't necessarily putting in the work and putting in the due diligence to be great at their craft, you know, it will expose itself sooner rather than later. I always say so.

Sanya Hudson-Payne 13:39

Yeah, yeah, you know, and also no one understands that in this day and age of social media, a lot of people are paying for likes, that's not even organic followers. So just trust the process, and have people get to know who you are, especially if you're trying to increase those likes, be authentic.

Gresham Harkless 13:59

Exactly, exactly. Because when the dust settles or when things happen, then you want to make sure that you're consistent, and you are providing true absolute value. So now I want to ask you my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. And we're hoping to have different, quote-unquote, CEOs on this show. So Sanya, I want to ask you what being a CEO means to you.

Sanya Hudson-Payne 14:19

Being a CEO, for me, means that I can create, I can create under my own guidelines, and now I'm inviting people to sit down at the table and just do it my way. So for me, that's what being a CEO means having the ability to create.

Gresham Harkless 14:42

I love it. I love that definition. And I love you sitting down at our table so that we can learn a little bit more about you. What I wanted to do is pass you the mic so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional you want to let our readers and our listeners know, and then of course, how they can find out about all the awesome things that you're doing.

Sanya Hudson-Payne 14:58

As I've mentioned during this conversation. I really don't like to call them interviews. I like to call them conversations. I am a woman of color in media. And it is so important that we keep this conversation growing. So I really do ask for your support. You can find me on Instagram and Facebook and Twitter @sanyaonair. And you can also visit my website www.she.company for all of my celebrity content.

Gresham Harkless 15:30

Awesome, awesome, awesome. We'll make sure to have those links in the show notes as well. So, Sanya, I appreciate you again. And I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

Sanya Hudson-Payne 15:37

Thank you for having me. I really appreciate it. Take care.

Outro 15:41

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes Google Play and everywhere you listen to podcasts, SUBSCRIBE, and leave us a five-star rating grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co. This has been the I AM CEO Podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.

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