IAM2445 – Podcaster Builds a Lifestyle Brand to Empower Women and Encourage Storytelling

Quanna

00:00 - 00:22

So I felt like when I did start the brand, I could've just been like, oh, this is my brand and I own this. But it was bigger than that. I was like, this is an opportunity to create something that could outlast me. And so when people ask me what the brand is, it is a brand, but it's more of like a social thing and becoming a way of style. Because people will hashtag it, people will write think pieces. I had XO Nicole write a thing, P's Blavity, like does it carry

Quanna

00:22 - 00:22

black

Quanna

00:22 - 00:25

or is it? I'm like, this is something I was literally calling myself.

Quanna

00:25 - 00:26

I don't get why

Quanna

00:26 - 00:31

it's that deep. But then when you think about it, it like awakens a whole different thought process.

Intro

00:32 - 00:59

Are you ready to hear business stories and learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and level up your business from awesome CEOs, entrepreneurs, and founders without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresh values your time and is ready to share with you the valuable info you're in search of. This is the I Am CEO podcast.

Gresham Harkless

00:59 - 01:08

Hello, hello, hello. This is Gresh from the I Am CEO podcast, and I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Kwana of Carefree Black Girl. Kwana, it's awesome to have you on the show.

Quanna

01:08 - 01:10

Okay, thank you. Thanks for having me.

Gresham Harkless

01:10 - 01:16

No problem. Super excited to have you on. I know we talked a little bit more offline, but I wanted to hear how's the conference going for you?

Quanna

01:16 - 01:23

It's going pretty good. I came out here to support my friend, Wise. He's the founder of Indie Creative Network. I'm pretty sure you'll hear from him soon. Yes.

Quanna

01:24 - 01:34

But yeah, it's been pretty good. I'm actually meeting a lot of people. My company does work in DC, so it was great to come out before we actually came out for my company's event and actually meet people.

Gresham Harkless

01:34 - 01:36

Yeah. So are you local in DC?

Quanna

01:37 - 02:08

No, so I am from Georgia, born and raised, but I've lived in New York for the past seven years. So I started my company Carefree Black Girl in New York. We're based in New York and Atlanta. So we say New York and Atlanta because I started in New York. But the podcast is actually based in Atlanta now. And I work and do events in Atlanta and New York as well throughout the year. But we do multi-cities. We do a tour everywhere. But for the most part, we have a lot of things going on in Atlanta and New York

Gresham Harkless

02:08 - 02:12

all throughout the year. Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. So I guess, how did you get started with everything?

Quanna

02:13 - 02:45

So I'm an artist first. I'm a rapper. You can find me online at QuanitMC for everything I have. But essentially, about 2011, 2012, I was describing myself as The Carefree Black Girl from Savannah, Georgia. And from there, the hashtag kind of went viral. And a lot of my background comes from community. I went to Clark Atlanta University. There, I was a part of the marching band, and I went through community-based events. So as I started my career as a rapper, I was still doing Stop the Violence events back home, little gatherings for my friends, hosting parties and things like that.

Quanna

02:46 - 03:01

And when I saw that the hashtag was going viral, it was just like, you know, this seems like it's going to be a little bigger than just me saying I'm a carefree black girl. And like, you know, that I decided to start doing things. So

Intro

03:01 - 03:01

I

Quanna

03:01 - 03:34

started the Carefree Black Girl Picnic in 2014, me and like five other friends. It was really cute. The next summer, 2015, I decided to do it again. This time I made a flyer and it went viral. Over 100 RTs and things like that. And from there, I decided I want to build something that's for Black women. You know, you have representation for the Afrocentric girls, the ghetto girl, whatever. I wanted to build a platform that catered to the diversity and the complexity of black women, because

Quanna

03:34 - 03:34

we

Quanna

03:34 - 03:40

all have different stories. You know, you could be a CEO now, but you might have grown up in the hood,

Quanna

03:40 - 03:40

in

Quanna

03:40 - 04:11

Chicago, whatever. So I wanted to be a platform that was for all black women. So summer 2015, after it went viral, I started to Google and research trademarking and LLCs. By the beginning of 2016, I had my LLC, and I started the process for Trademark. Because the hashtag was so viral, I had to go through a whole process of securing the trademark. And it took a very, very long time. I actually did not get my trademark until last summer. Oh,

Gresham Harkless

04:11 - 04:11

wow. 2018. Wow.

Quanna

04:15 - 04:52

Actually, I didn't get the paperwork in hand until October of 2018. But at this point, the brand is, it has a lot of moving parts, but essentially it's a lifestyle brand that promotes women empowerment, entrepreneurship, and the arts. And we do that through building platforms for Black women to display and to tell their stories. So one thing that we have is a Carefree Black Girl podcast. It's on iTunes, and you can find a few clips online. but they pretty much discuss all things, anything carefree, anything Black, anything girl, from politics to health and wellness. We've had trans women come on and tell their stories.

Quanna

04:53 - 05:33

We've spoken to CEOs. We've spoken to just all local entrepreneurs. So that's one platform that we have. The Carefree Black Girl Cookout, it serves as the one-stop shop for everything Black woman. So if you could think of just going in somewhere and seeing food, different dishes to eat, different entrepreneurs, different hair care brands. We have women performers. And the Carefree Black Girl Cookout is actually our biggest activation. We travel stages of the city, including D.C. Last year, we went to Philly, Savannah, Atlanta. We came to D.C. We went to Can you go to Charlotte? Charlotte I think.

Quanna

05:33 - 05:43

This year we're trying to go to like more cities but we just stop in every city and we call up the local entrepreneurs, vendors, talent and we just have festivals.

Quanna

05:43 - 05:44

Nice.

Quanna

05:44 - 05:51

And that's a part and we also have merch and other things but I would say the podcast and the cookout are like our biggest platforms right now.

Gresham Harkless

05:51 - 06:11

Yeah no that's absolutely huge because I love how like a lot of times you create something because something doesn't exist Next thing you know, you start talking to one or two people and like, oh, that's super cool. I want to come to that event or I want to get that list of the podcast, whatever that is. Next thing you know, you start to build, you got your trademark and all those things start to come out from there. So it kind of starts out from. Just trying to create something for yourself and then all of a sudden, all these people want it.

Quanna

06:11 - 06:35

Right, right. Exactly. So I felt like when I did start the brand, I could have just been like, oh, this is my brand. I own this. But it was bigger than that. I was like, this is an opportunity to create something that could outlast me. And some people ask me what the brand is. It is a brand, but it's more of like a social thing and becoming a way of style because people will hashtag it. People write think pieces. I had XO Nicole write a thing, please. Blavity doesn't care

Quanna

06:35 - 06:35

who

Quanna

06:35 - 06:38

Blackberry is. I'm like, this is something I was literally calling myself. I don't

Quanna

06:39 - 06:39

know why

Quanna

06:39 - 07:01

it's that deep. But then when you think about it, it like awakens a whole different thought process, like striving in spite of obstacles. Not saying I don't have cares, but it's just saying like, none of this is going to stop me from is selling type thing. And I think that we show that in the things we do. We don't choose to find these neighborhoods to go to. We'll go right in the hood and post up and have an event. And

Quanna

07:01 - 07:02

you see

Quanna

07:02 - 07:07

all these Black women coming out with talent and food and all these different products for sale. And you're like, what is

Quanna

07:08 - 07:08

this?

Quanna

07:08 - 07:24

And so it just shows you that different aspect of what it means to be a woman and what it means to be Black. And then men come out. We have about 40% male attendance. celebrate and we understand the importance of strengthening our women.

Gresham Harkless

07:25 - 07:35

Yeah, absolutely. And that makes perfect sense. And I wanted to ask you for what I call your secret sauce. And this is something you might have already touched on, but what do you feel kind of sets you or your brand apart, makes you guys unique?

Quanna

07:36 - 08:15

The thing I think that makes us unique is that we're relentless in our desire to say that we are a platform for Black women. Because I've had a lot of people say, oh, you live by women of color. I'm like, yeah, I get it. I appreciate everyone. But right now, there's a definite need for my sisters to be empowered from all angles. I think that we look at a lot of the media, and we have representations. We have the Salonikas. We have the Cardi Bs. We are starting to get the younger names, and we're starting to get these other different types of people where we have to make that more visual so people understand that when they're approaching Aquana, her and Rebecca aren't the same.

Quanna

08:15 - 08:31

You know what I mean? We're not monolithic. And I think that that's my secret sauce, that we're relentless in saying that we want to identify the diversity of Black women. If you come to my stage, you might have a Black country singer. You know what I mean? You may have somebody who would look like SZA, but she's rapping like 50 Cent.

Quanna

08:32 - 08:33

You know what I mean?

Quanna

08:33 - 08:41

On my stage. So I just try to build platforms for those people. And social media is also a secret sauce of us. The fact that people talk so much about us,

Quanna

08:42 - 08:42

they keep

Quanna

08:42 - 08:48

us relevant, whether it's good or bad. When they're asking the questions, they're talking, OK, I'm going to talk back. I'm going to ask them a question.

Quanna

08:48 - 08:48

I

Quanna

08:48 - 09:01

feel like that's what keeps me going. Twitter, Instagram, whatever they're talking, whether it's good or bad, if you feel like somebody's dissing your brand, give a funny comment. You know what I mean? Be like, oh my god, I didn't know. Thank you. You know

Quanna

09:01 - 09:01

what

Quanna

09:01 - 09:08

I mean? Actually, you might have just won a fan or created another supporter out of them critiquing

Gresham Harkless

09:08 - 09:29

you. Exactly, exactly. Yeah. And I feel like in today's day and age, you have the opportunity, whether it be brands or people, to have that direct conversation, which you never would have ever had years and years ago. So it's huge that you guys are taking advantage of that. So I wanted to switch gears a little bit and ask you for what I call a CEO hack. And this might be what you touched on, but it's something, it might be an app, a book, or a habit, but something that makes you more effective and efficient.

Quanna

09:30 - 09:58

I will say that I take a lot of notes. So like no matter where I go, I always have like a little notepad to write it down on whether you use your notes app. Canva has saved my life when it comes to like branding on my social media, because sometimes you can be like need vendors and you can just write it under a post. But people are so visual now. I think that Canva has been like my secret weapon when I need to like You can even create decks on Canva. You can create one sheets.

Quanna

09:59 - 10:05

And I feel like that's an app that helps me do different things. Like my notes app and the Canva app, like those are my like CEO hacks.

Gresham Harkless

10:05 - 10:17

Good, good. I love those. And especially Canva has saved my life as well. So I know what you mean. And now I want to ask you for what I call a CEO nugget. And this is a word of wisdom or a piece of advice. Or if you can hop into a time machine, what would you tell your younger business self?

Quanna

10:18 - 10:54

Don't be afraid to be multifaceted. I think people force people in these boxes. And that's why I feel like the disparities within this country have been formed because everybody does. We're not all educated the same and we don't receive information the same. We're not always the same. So I feel like as a creator as an innovator as a storyteller. When you go to tell your story, if your story has many layers, allow those layers to be told. Don't try to hide one part of yourself to appease another. So when I first started rapping, I wouldn't tell people I was a college graduate because I felt like it was like, oh, why are you rapping?

Quanna

10:55 - 11:11

You know, I'm smart, but I also am talented as well. So why not be someone who can display both those things? So I feel like if you have multi-talent, just make them all make sense. Make them all drive that one dream. But do not cut them off because eventually those things are going to haunt you.

Gresham Harkless

11:12 - 11:22

Yeah, that makes perfect sense. And a lot of times that's how you kind of separate yourself as is because you have all those different facets that you pull together. And this makes you who you are and why you can't be duplicated or copied by anyone.

Quanna

11:22 - 11:47

Right, because you might be able to do graphic design. If you can sing and do your own graphics, you already got a different angle from somebody else. Exactly. I definitely think that, even when it comes to podcasting, I produce Carefree Black Girl podcast. I'm not on it. You rarely hear my voice. People are like, why aren't you on the podcast? You're a rapper. I'm like, that's another skill that I want to get better at. I want to help other people tell their stories. I feel like it could be 10 black girls in a room, but we could all tell a different story.

Quanna

11:47 - 12:00

You might be a little overweight. I could tell the story to your community. You might have a biracial, you know, father. You might be first generation and you might do this. And I feel like people are so hesitant because they see other people do it. And I realize that, like, everybody's

Gresham Harkless

12:00 - 12:15

unique. Yeah, exactly. We all have our own special story. So I appreciate you for doing a part to kind of showcase that. Thank you. So now I want to ask you my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. We're hoping to have different quote unquote CEOs on the show. So I wanted to ask you, what does it mean to you?

Quanna

12:16 - 12:40

What it means to be a CEO. I feel like a CEO is an innovator. They're a badass person. This person basically saw a need for something when it created. They walked in a grocery store and saw a hundred forms of bread, but that CEO said, I'm gonna make this bread better. And so I feel like that's what makes a CEO. Somebody's like, all right, all right, I can do that. And if I can't do that, I would do something even better.

Gresham Harkless

12:40 - 12:49

Right. I absolutely love that definition. I think that taps into everything. So I appreciate your time, Quanah. For anybody that's listening, what's the best way for them to get a hold of you?

Quanna

12:49 - 13:30

OK, so to get a hold of me specifically, it's Quanah MC on everything. So that's Q-U-A-N-N-A-M-C on Twitter, Instagram. I have music out. To get in touch with Carefree Black Girl, you can simply use the hashtag, CarefreeBlackGirl, and you'll most likely find us. But it's Instagram, CarefreeBlackGirl, underscore, ink. So that's CarefreeBlackGirl, underscore, I-N-C. Twitter, it's C-F-B-G-POD. So that's C-F-B-G-P-O-D on Twitter. And we also have a website. It's CarefreeBlackGirl, without the I in girl. So, but you didn't get that. It's on the Instagram and stuff like that.

Gresham Harkless

13:31 - 13:38

Yeah, absolutely. And it'll definitely be in the show notes as well, too. So you can definitely follow up and click through. So I appreciate your time. I hope you have a great rest of the day.

Intro

13:38 - 14:13

Yeah, thank you. Thank you for listening to the I Am CEO podcast powered by CB Nation and Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at imceo.co. I am CEO is not just a phrase. It's a community. Want to level up your business even more? Read blogs, listen to podcasts, and watch videos at CBNation.co. Also, check out our I Am CEO Facebook group. This has been the I Am CEO podcast with Gresham Harkless Jr. Thank you for listening.