IAM201- Creator and Podcast Host Sparks Growth in Marginalized Individuals

Tyinna is the creator of Around-the-Lectual Girl, a lifestyle brand that seeks to showcase authenticity, spread love, and spark growth in marginalized individuals. She is as a video blogging, and inspiring podcaster. Through daily motivational videos, PYTyinna Allows the world to experience her highs, lows, and life lessons. All this in an effort to motivate & inspire others to become a better version of themselves & achieve personal fulfilment.

• CEO Hack: (1)Notebook for writing thoughts down (2) Work-out in the morning (3) Score for business templates
• CEO Nugget: Plan, keep trying and opportunities will open up
• CEO Defined: Creator of his or her products/work

Instagram: officialatlgirl
Facebook: officialatlgirl
Twitter: officialatlgirl
YouTube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCTDCSih6UxibfzZCQH92MAA

Full Interview

https://youtu.be/PUmopX1PAyE

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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 0:27

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 Tyinna Singleton of Around-the-Lectual Girl. Tyinna it's awesome to have you on the show.

Tyinna Singleton 0:37

Hi, thank you so much for having me.

Gresham Harkless 0:39

No problem, super excited to have you on, and what I wanted to do was read a little bit more about Tyinna so you can hear about all the awesome things that she's doing. And Tyinna is the creator of Around-the-Lectual Girl a lifestyle brand that seeks to showcase authenticity, spread love and spark growth and marginalize individuals. She's a video blogger and inspiring podcaster and through her daily videos, PYTyinna allows the world to experience her highs, lows, and life lessons. All this is in an effort to motivate and inspire others to become a better version of themselves and achieve personal fulfillment. Tyinna, are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO Community?

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Tyinna Singleton 1:16

I'm ready.

Gresham Harkless 1:17

Awesome. Let's do it. So the first question I had was to hear a little bit more about like what I call your CEO story and what led you to start your business

Tyinna Singleton 1:24

What led me to start my business? So it was kind of an accident. To be completely honest, I stumbled across it. So a little bit about myself. I am 29 years old, I am a wife. I'm a mother of twins. I'm a video blogger when I'm not working my nine-to-five weekend jobs. I have a very busy life. And I'm from a very small town. But I always felt like I had big dreams and I wanted to achieve so much. But it wasn't until I left this small town actually Morgan City, Louisiana at about 17 years old that I realized I was really ill-prepared for the world. I got a lot of pushback with a lot of things I started to become very uncomfortable with how are you prepared, and I realized I was everything from my accent to my unconventional personality. I've been told a lot of people from Louisiana are special people.

And I learned that quickly coming out of a small town and out of my comfort zone just felt like a fish out of water so I kind of hit a rough patch in life. I was working a lot of jobs there really weren't fulfilling, I hated him to be completely honest, the money was tight, and all of my attempts to try to achieve different endeavors, which is fail, left and right. I started to get discouraged. I'm like, hey, I gotta do something. But, I feel like I need some direction. So I can try to get myself together and keep the hope of achieving my dreams.

And I went looking for like different classes and all this lifestyle stuff, things like that. But I couldn't really find anything that fit me. And it's very discouraging. I feel unworthy of a lot of the classes plus find a lot of stuff on budgeting, and investing in credit. Meanwhile, I'm just trying to pay the rent, I'm like, I'm not ready to budget, , I'm trying to figure out how to pay the rent. I know, my money's tight, I'm not spinning in any way, because I don't have any.

So I went through that whole phase for a while just feeling very discouraged. And when I would find something that just was never candid enough to me, that was so pretty and flowery. And I'm like, This is not helping me at all. So one day, I was in Wendy's drive-thru for my lunch break. And back when I was still eating horribly. And I hit the record button on my phone and I started recording myself just to get my thoughts out. And it was really just a type of therapy for me. At that moment, I guess I sort of created what I was looking for, but by accident.

Gresham Harkless 3:43

You got started. I absolutely love that. It's funny, because a lot of times, people will start things not necessarily because they have this grand big vision or anything like that. It's just that they're looking for something and they don't feel like they can ever find it. And the next thing they're in a Wendy's drive-thru or wherever. And they're just saying, hey, why don't I just start creating, and next thing, you know, you start to attract other people because other people are looking for the exact same thing. Sounds like that's what happened.

Tyinna Singleton 4:06

That's exactly what happened. It was so on accident. I couldn't sit here. And I wish I had a fancy story that said, I always wanted to do this. But the truth is, I never knew that this would bring me so much joy, let alone help so many people and I'm humbled by to say the least. But I was just looking for something and I felt discouraged. I don't come from a very pretty background. I always felt like, other people have so many different opportunities.

And like I said, when I really got outside of my little Louisiana town, I really started to see all the stuff that people had, I just didn't so it was so discouraging, like how somebody like me is able to achieve X, Y, and Z nobody that was doing what I wanted to do look like me, and if they weren't going through what I was going through, they wouldn't talk about it, so I was like, I just don't feel a place man like I don't fit any of these malls and I just started with Kord and really trying to, walk myself through trying to chase my dreams and chase self-fulfillment and becoming a better person. And somehow it turned into a little girl's brain. And here I am.

Gresham Harkless 5:11

Awesome, awesome, awesome. I'm super excited to have you on and hear a lot more about everything that you're doing. Because a lot of times people are going through things and going through difficulties. And sometimes they don't see the light at the end of the tunnel. But the fact that you've been able to do that you've been able to see that light, and now you're kind of helping other people see that light as well to definitely appreciate you for doing that.

Tyinna Singleton 5:29

Thank you.

Gresham Harkless 5:30

You're welcome. You're welcome. And I know you touched on it a little bit, but I wanted to hear a little bit more about electrical girl tell me a little bit more about what you're doing. And some of the things you're doing to help support the class you're working

Tyinna Singleton 5:39

Around-the-Lectual Girl, well, first of all, the name Around-the-Lectual Girl kind of comes from my around-the-way girl kind of demeanor at first conversation with most people, they, always say, I'm very unconventional, I'm always in my commentary is very intellectual. So between the two, I kind of meshed and came up with around election will girl and it's kind of just what I went with, but the brand itself around the election will grow. It's so The definition of it is, one who's confident, independently driven, possesses a high level of intellect, real sharp attitude, the life of the party, and all these things that describe me, I define my own definition of beauty, do everything from hills to jump squid, dirt on the totem pole, like, and I'm bursting with personality, I am, who I am.

And, I try to own every last bit of it. But the brand itself was just what it was that I explained to you. Basically, I use social media, video blogging, and podcasting as my outlet. But my intention is to reach marginalized individuals and kind of create a safe space, if you will, for communication, Foster's love, and emotional support and really sparks people to grow. So I do all of those things through authentic conversations, they just display in my own journey to self-improvement into personal fulfillment.

And I try to be as candid as I can with that by just showcasing my own, not just talking about it and telling people you can do it. I mean, we we've been here in essence, the earliest days of school, kindergarten teachers, like you can do it, you know yeah, that sounds great. I can do it, but I fail 10 times lately, like, I'm not filming, so I can do it right now. I hate you, but you're not saying much to me. So I'm not so much and just, talking about an inch and trying to make people feel a certain way. Like, I want to show people my own efforts. Not only am I gotta tell you what it is that I experienced, that dealt with it, but I'm going to show you the text that it has had on my own life and hopes that you will try at least try to do the same thing, so that's pretty much what it is. I tell people all the time, I'm not a life coach, I'm not a counselor, I'm not any of those things, at least not yet.

My full intent is really just to speak to people like me, marginalized individuals don't come from, a pretty background or financial stability or anything like that. But you have dreams, you have aspirations, you have hopes, whether it be to own your own business, or run a certain company, or just be personally fulfilling and be a decent person, a lot of stuff we weren't taught, you know, and I'm here to talk about those things. And I'm here to love you through it, like, I'm all about spreading love letting people know that you know, I love you and I care about you, positivity really pushing it out there and getting people comfortable, be able to talk about a lot of things that we just don't and kind of work our way through the process of being who we want to be instead of accepting what it is that life gave us.

Gresham Harkless 8:48

And you might have touched on this a little bit. But I wanted to ask you for what I call your secret sauce. And this is what you feel kind of distinguishes you assess your work.

Tyinna Singleton 8:55

So my secret sauce is me. My secret sauce, I put my all on the table, and I speak directly from my heart, whatever is on my heart to discuss. That's what I discussed. And I think that resonated with a lot of people just being regular Daedelus Megalo Mi is nothing fancy about it is nothing special about it.

I wish I could say that I had a special recipe that I can whip up, but it's not, I get up in the morning and, whatever is on my heart to discuss it already. I might have had an idea to want to talk about something via video blog the day before but something may have happened I may have just wake up with something on my heart and I tried to discuss it the best way I can and kind of give some solutions or kind of explain to people how I navigated through similar issues, trying to help push people do these things that we all encounter in life and I don't try to make it pretty sugarcoat it you know I am who I am and I don't try to hide it. I give you full-blown if you watch any of my video blogs, but I guess the relatability seems to help people a lot to be able to get some of those feelings out. So I am my own secret sauce.

Gresham Harkless 10:07

I love that definitely makes perfect sense. And that resonates. Because a lot of times, you being who you are and having your life experiences, and being able to tell your story is what distinguishes you and sets you apart and says everything that you do apart, because it's an extension of what you are and who you are, and everything you value. So I definitely appreciate that. And 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.

Tyinna Singleton 10:33

A CEO hack, so something that I found first and foremost, has helped me tremendously as a kid, I was very forgetful. I've always been very scatterbrained, I can't keep still, and I'm always late my mom would always see me write it down, if you can't remember, write it down. Most kids always have their excuses, and always I forgot, I really just couldn't remember to save my life. So she would always tell me, if you can't remember write it down. So I started carrying a notebook.

And, anytime I have a thought about something, rather, is an idea, or my brain already, it's just a thought of something that I want to do personally, to work on myself, or whatever I'm thinking I carry a notebook. Another thing that I've used very often that just skimmed through for like templates and stuff for business documents is score.org, I want to say they have all types of templates for small businesses and financial documents. And not because I'm so disciplined by for I hated, Alfa Louisiana, we love food. I rather get sold and work out, but I do it because jumpstarting my day with a workout really like gets me moving, it gets me like really going gets me up, it starts to make my wheels really turn, I'm able to be more productive throughout the day.

And even have more energy, in combination with trying to make better food choices, because as a mom, as a wife, as a creative, I work a full-time job, I work a part-time job, you get spread thin. And if you're not properly taking care of your body, you'll feel it quickly. But you would think that the effects would be even more so getting up and working out every day. But if I don't do that workout, I don't have the energy to do all the things that are something need to be done in the day. So that's actually three hexamine, I carry a notebook, I work out every morning, and I check out scores for any templates and stuff related to business.

Gresham Harkless 12:39

Awesome, awesome, awesome. And I love those CEO hacks. Now I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO nugget. And this is a word of wisdom or piece of advice. If you can happen to be a time machine, what would you tell your younger business self?

Tyinna Singleton 12:49

A lot, just from coming from that background and lay, not having very much to go off of, I would say that the opportunity that you're looking for might not always be there, but your drive will give birth to opportunity. So, some people are fortunate enough to have things placed in front of them, and no discredit to them for when they achieve it's great, but a lot of us don't know.

And it's easy to get discouraged when you will have the opportunity right in front of us like, hey, I want to start a business. Okay, well, nobody who owned a business, the first thing about running this business, is you don't have the money to start a business. it's just all of these different things that you could think of that are working against you.

But if I could say anything, first and foremost, to my younger self, I will say just because the opportunity is in front of you doesn't mean you can't create it, you drive you to keep working at it, you keep trying you keep getting up when you fall, eventually, somebody is going to notice that somebody is going to open the door. Oh, you know what, no one else I will say though, plan and then plan to fail, because you're gonna fail and then plan again. So that's it.

Gresham Harkless 14:11

So I wanted to ask you my absolute favorite question, which is a definition of what it means to be a CEO. In Seattle, we have different quote-unquote, CEOs on the show, but I wanted to ask you, what does being a CEO mean to you?

Tyinna Singleton 14:21

Okay, so being that I don't have an actual, tangible product. I don't have a product that I sell that you can touch and feel. I feel like being a CEO, at one point it was all about, owning a physical business, a building that you can touch a product that you can sell, but in light of so many creatives and like so many wonderful people, there's so many different things. You know, that definition I feel like definitely has to adapt with the times and I feel like a CEO, in his essence is a person or creator of his or her. You create something and you're the CEO or whatever that thing is whether you can touch it, whether you can smell it, see it, whatever it is, it may be tangible. It may not, but, still in Oh, I feel like that person is a CEO because you've created your own.

Gresham Harkless 15:19

I appreciate you Tyinna. What I wanted to do was pass you the mic just to see if there's anything additional, you want to let our readers and our listeners know and of course how best they can get ahold of you and find out about everything you're doing from your brand.

Tyinna Singleton 15:30

Okay, well, my brand is  Around-the-Lectual Girl I post motivational video blogs every single morning and Monday to Friday. So if you're looking for a morning push, you can find me on all your social media outlets @officialatlgirl.You can also subscribe to my youtube channel Around-the-Lectual Girl and you can email me if you have any questions or you just need a listening ear. As I said, I'm not a life coach. I'm not a therapist, I'm not any of those things. I'm just a regular person who is willing to listen, and you can get my honest opinion. If you ever need to talk about anything. My inbox is always open and that's aroundthelectualgirl@gmail.com

Gresham Harkless 16:11

Awesome. awesome, awesome. Once again, I truly appreciate you for everything awesome that you're doing. Appreciate your time today and we'll make sure to have all those links in the show notes so that everybody can follow up with you. But I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

Tyinna Singleton 16:22

Thank you.

Outro 16:24

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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