Balanced Black Girl podcast host Les Alfred shares insights on how she succeeded in podcasting and in building a loyal community

Akua: Welcome back to another episode of the independent business podcast. And today on the show, we have less Alfred, who is a content creator, business owner, and host of balance black girl, a podcast dedicated to helping you feel your best by providing approachable health, self care, and personal development tips.

She joins us on the show to share with us her journey of leaving her corporate job to become a full time podcaster. Take care. How she handles the pressure of being a business owner and the face of a community and how she was able to build a loyal and successful community through her podcast. Less gives us so much wisdom and insight into this episode that reminds you the best way to build a successful business is to put people first.

Now let’s get into the episode. Hey everyone. This is your host, Akua Konadu, and you’re listening to the Independent Business Podcast. More people than ever are working for themselves and building profitable businesses in the process. So on this show, I get to sit down with some of the most influential authors, entrepreneurs, and creators to break down the science of self made success so that you can achieve it too.

Hello, Les. How are you? Hi, I’m doing well. How are you? I’m doing well. I’m doing well. Good. I am so excited to have you here. I mean, I’m a huge fan of your show, Balanced Black Girl. And, you know, every single week when I’m dropping my crazy dog in Chicago at daycare, and he’s just causing a ruckus, having no decorum on his walk.

As soon as I drop him off, I put my headphones in, I listen to the latest episode, and I’m at ease. 

Les: Well, I’m honored to be part of your routine. 

Akua: Yes, absolutely. So it’s just been so much fun. Um, I’ve been really looking forward to having you, just so our audience can know more about you. And I feel like you have a very unique journey into what you’re currently doing now.

And so for you, right, like you have cultivated a large community, like I’m a part of it. And so. Did you ever see yourself podcasting and doing this essentially or is it something you just kind of like naturally just fell into because you’re so gifted at it and I love listening to you every single week.

Les: Oh, wow. Well, thank you so much. I would say podcasting, yes, I did fall into it. Podcasting has been an extension of my content creation career, which started about 10 years ago. I started off in 2014 as a blogger and I’ve.

So I spent, you know, years focused on being a blogger that didn’t really stick. I spent years exclusively trying to be an Instagram influencer that didn’t really stick. And then when I started podcasting, that was when I finally started seeing some traction and some momentum and that’s what stuck. And so I’ve, I’ve been here ever since.

Akua: And I love that though, because I think again, it just speaks in like terms of just like Entrepreneurship, contegration, whatever people are doing of like, you really do have to just try things and see what works for you. And so like, and I feel like as business owners, we’re always constantly shifting, pivoting.

And so for you in between each pivot in between each shift, what did that look like for you? Because I think I have learned about myself is that I I’ve always been like, yeah, I can adapt. I can change. It’s not an easy thing to do. I struggle with that. Like I’m not as malleable as I thought I was. And so like for you who has shifted and pivoted in between each seasons, how have you just been able to do that and still stay grounded and really just still feel confident of like, all right, this didn’t work.

I’m still going to move forward and try something else. 

Les: I don’t. I don’t always feel confident. There are so many times that I have wanted to quit. I mean, even just this time last year, I was like, am I going to continue the podcast? Do I, do I even want to do it anymore? I had been feeling so burnt out and frustrated and discouraged with it just this time last year.

So I wouldn’t say that I do feel grounded and confident. I think I’m just stubborn and for whatever reason, find some way to keep going. 

Akua: Yeah. If you don’t mind sharing, like, what have, have you been frustrated about? How have you been feeling burnt out? Cause you know, and I, just as a fellow now podcaster myself, like with this show, it is not easy running a full time podcast show.

It is not for the weak. I like to say it. I’m like, Oh my, I’m learning so much. But for you, what did that frustration look like if you don’t mind sharing? 

Les: It’s a lot of pressure. I think that when you are in the content space and you have a platform and you’re kind of figure in some way, you can cultivate this really beautiful community around you, but it’s very easy for them to forget that you are a person who has your own challenges, your own struggles, your own things that you’re figuring out.

And I have found myself in a position where I have had thousands of people, Expecting me to know all things and to know the answer to every problem and to be able to give everybody a personalized answer to whatever it is that they’re struggling with and I’m like, y’all, I can’t even solve my own problems, let alone everybody else’s.

And so a lot of it was just the pressure. I was just really feeling so much pressure to be perfect and to do things perfectly all the time. And I was working so much, and it was just a really tough time. 

Akua: Yeah, and I think that’s so interesting because obviously the show is called like, Balance Black Girl.

It’s all about finding balance, but then it’s like, to your point, that’s very understandable of how you’re kind of like that sister, right? That a lot of people just go in and tune in and listen to. And I think it’s, it is very easy for for people to instantly forget that you are a person that’s truly just trying to figure out, navigate, like, what the thing is, what I love about you is that you have brought us along the journey alongside you.

You’re saying, like, I don’t have all the answers, you guys. Like, this is just where I’m currently at in my season. And so if you are here with me, like, let’s, we’re figuring this out together. And so do you feel like you found yourself naturally putting that pressure on yourself? Or do you feel like that was like an expectation that your audience have put on you more so?

Les: It’s both. I mean, it’s, it’s definitely both. Yeah. I, I do think, you know. I don’t necessarily think that everybody has the luxury to build a brand around being like a hot mess. And there are some people who are very prominent who do, and I absolutely love that for them. And I would say for my age, and especially being a black woman, that’s not really something that we get to build a brand around.

We often get Celebrated for having things be very together and for not necessarily being relatable, but for being more so aspirational But then you can’t be too aspirational because then you know people have a problem with that So it’s it’s a very fine line that you’re walking all the time that I absolutely do put pressure on myself to do but also I think We’ll get hundreds of messages of people dumping, you know, their problems and their things and their struggles and being like, well, what do I do?

And I’m like, I don’t know, like, thank you so much for coming to me with this, but I’m not qualified to, to help you with this. And so it’s, it’s definitely both. I think. 

Akua: Yeah. And something to that you just said, because that I struggle with that as well. I think I have transitioned as to becoming a host and it’s true, like as a woman of color specifically.

You do feel like you have to be a certain way. Like at times, somebody actually, I met some, I was at a conference last week and this person did not realize that they had listened to me every single week. Like they didn’t, I had like met them and I’m like, Hey, my name is Akua. So nice to meet you. I chatted with her for a couple minutes and like went into my thing and I got a message later in the evening and she was like, I literally did not realize that I listened to your show every single week.

She’s like, I heard your name, but like, and I was like thinking, Oh yeah, it was very pretty. But like, I didn’t realize it was you. And it was so funny. We had like a really great conversation, but, um, she came up to me the next day. She’s like, you know, I feel like you really hold back a lot on the show. And it was because for me, similar to you, like, I feel like as a woman of color, I feel like I’ve had to put myself specifically in this box to make myself more in certain types of spaces.

And it is true. Like when we see Black women. It’s like it is more aspirational, right? And then if like, if they go too far beyond, it’s like, you feel like, well, I don’t feel that way, but I know some people do where it’s like, it’s out of touch. Like I can’t attain that. And so I think I would love to hear your thoughts just as a black woman of how you are consistently in that.

Cause I struggle with it right now. I do all the time. You know what I mean? Like, I am very unfiltered and unedited, and I love to be that way because I feel like we’ve just, you get such, some of the best, uh, conversations, some of the best nuggets, you learn so much more about the other person and yourself, but also too, sometimes I struggle where I’m like, do I, like, how do I, like, am I holding back?

Like, how do I find that sweet spot? So how has that been for you just as a woman, a woman of color as well? 

Les: Yeah, you know, I don’t really feel too. Hung up around the idea of holding back because at least the way that I approach my content and the way that I approach my show is I’m not there to put all my business in the street.

I’m there to facilitate conversation. And if I have an experience that I think can be helpful for the audience that I choose to share, then I feel like I get to choose what that looks like and how much I share and how much I don’t, but most of my show is interview based. And so I’m there to facilitate a conversation.

I’m there to share my platform with someone else to share their perspective, or if it’s a solo episode, I’m there to tell a story or to share some insight that I have, but I don’t think that. Everybody is entitled to everything that I think or have experienced or had to share and I don’t really feel bad about Sharing or not sharing what I’m not comfortable sharing.

Akua: And I love that though. I think that’s a really great reminder because I feel like as business owners, as we continuously, and I’m a storytelling strategist, I love leaning into storytelling. And I feel like that is something that I feel like as business owners, when we feel like we’re putting out our content and we’re starting to be maybe a little bit more vulnerable, I feel like sometimes we forget to honor ourselves in the process of like, you don’t, not everybody’s entitled to everything and that is a okay.

And I think that’s just such a good boundary just to remind people that In order to make a sale in order to, you know, grow your business in order to grow your audience, that you don’t have to sacrifice this pieces of yourself. Like you, like you are whole and you are more than enough. And so even just hearing you say that, I’m like, that’s just such a good reminder for me to even take in today of like, what I give you is what I give you.

And this is why that, and you know what I mean? And again, I think it’s great as a reminder, as. You’re just even as a content creator, building that content that you are facilitating conversation. You are here just to share your experience and if people don’t relate, that’s okay. And for the people that do, please stay, let’s figure this out together.

And so I, that’s just such a good, good reminder. And I think I just like, even feel a little bit, just like relief of like, even in that content journey of just like having more fun with it and just, you know, honoring yourself and having those boundaries that I think are just so, so valuable. And so for you, as you have been walking through, like, you know, obviously last year you said you’ve been feeling burnt out and stuff like that.

How have you been honoring yourself to kind of, you know, feel more aligned now with what you’re doing? 

Les: I think it’s a constant dance of learning how to set and reset boundaries. I don’t think that there’s ever any one thing that we can do or we don’t ever set a boundary one time and we’re like, okay, that’s good.

Boundary set forever. It’s perfect. So I’m still constantly learning about what boundaries look like for me, but a lot of it has been really self investment and pouring into and focusing on myself in ways that aren’t always shared online. And Something that I have mentioned is that I did recently go back to therapy and I’ve been in and out of therapy for years But all of my previous experiences with therapy were always when something Like the alarm bells were going off like I was navigating a really tough breakup But I was in the thick of it or I was experiencing loss and grief or experiencing severe anxiety So I would go to therapy when that happened, but I’ve never until recently gone to therapy when I felt okay just to Do some inner workout just to work through stuff that I have been carrying and no longer want and want to kind of reprogram just to kind of fine tune how I take care of myself.

And that has been really transformational for me. But from a boundary perspective, I’ve had people ask a lot. Well, what have you learned in therapy? Well, what are you and their therapist talk about? Well, how’s that been? And it’s like, I’m not going to post that publicly because Why? Because 

Akua: why? Yeah. Yeah.

Therapy is that, like, sacred time for you to talk about your personal things. And I think, again, I think, I think people can easily, easily forget that. But I love what you shared that, though, because that makes me think of one of our previous episodes that we were talking about business reset. And he was sharing similarly to you that you don’t have to be going through some things in order to have a business reset, right?

Like, this is the time when things are going well that you should be checking in with yourself, that you should be. really grounding yourself, however that looks like, right? Whether therapy or, you know, working out, whatever that is, is really just taking your, your care of yourself now, because when life does get difficult, when your business does get hard and you need that resiliency, you have now equipped yourself.

You have the tools and stuff of how to navigate that. And I think again, like you just really. just another testament to that of like, you don’t have to be going through something. I think like, I feel like this is the better time, right? I feel like it’s even harder because you have to do a lot more deeper introspect into yourself of like, because I feel like when you’re walking through some things and things are going really hard, it is really easy to pull out of like, this is what the issue is.

But when things are going better and things are going well, and you’re like, okay, I feel like it’s harder to kind of figure out like, just honestly how to, to navigate, like what it is that you want to work through, what it is that you want to take from it. And so I think that’s a really good, good point of, again, that no matter what season of business that you’re in, especially if you’re going through a good season, like lean into it, check in with yourself, reset if you need to, because again, like things shift and things pivot and things change.

And so something that I has really stuck with me of one of your past episodes, and I don’t know who it was, but it was just so it clicked for me. And she said, you know, I’m on assignment. This isn’t something that like, I think sometimes even in business, we feel like, all right, this is it. When we’re in our season, like this is it, this is the final thing I’m going to do.

This is it for me. And I’m going to go, which I think is great. I just remember myself where there had been journeys in my business where I was like, this is it for me. Like I know 1000 percent and I went into it and it wasn’t. And then I realized afterward that it was an assignment for me in this current season of what I needed to learn to be able to move forward.

And when I heard. That person or it was you that I can’t remember what episode it was, but it was so good. It absolutely clicked for me and totally pivoted the way that I think about my life and my business. And so what, like, I guess, what are your thoughts on that? I guess more so, cause you shared, I can’t remember what you shared.

It was so dang good. And for you, like every season, every pivot, has that been like an assignment and how have you navigated through that? I think for me, I was so let down when I realized, But also, it was bittersweet. Like I was bummed because I thought this was it for me, but then I realized there was so much more that I had to walk through and just pivot in different seasons in my business.

And so I asked you a lot in there. 

Les: Happy to jump in. Okay. Yes. So that episode with, was with Ashley Blaine Featherson Jenkins, incredible actress. She’s also a podcast host of a beautiful podcast. And in that episode we were talking about purpose. Yes. And. I did say that I personally lean more into the idea of assignments than purpose, and I’ve also started creating some social media content around it, kind of saying the same thing, and it has really resonated with people, but that has been my biggest learning in my career is I don’t feel like our jobs are a purpose, at least not for me.

And for some people, they may disagree. They may feel like my business or my job or this company or this thing that I do is my purpose. And that is so great. And I love that for them as somebody who is now In the middle of entrepreneurship, I’ve had tons of corporate jobs. I’ve done a ton of different things.

I personally do not feel like my purpose as a human being is even something that needs to be defined or that can be confined to one job. Most of the jobs that I have had have been making PowerPoints and spreadsheets and writing blog posts. So that’s, that’s, that’s my purpose, making spreadsheets with data that may or may not even be real.

In a cubicle all day like that. That’s it. That’s purpose. No, I think that, you know, we get to decide what our purpose is and I’m so much more focused now on having experiences and how my life feels and Letting the feeling be a sense of purpose and these different jobs whether that is balanced black girl or any other thing that I do in the future are just assignments.

There are ways for me to grow. There are ways for me to learn. I have said many, many times, like, balance black girl is not my purpose. It is an assignment. It is something that I have been really fortunate to bring into the world and it helps other people. And I’m so So grateful to be a vessel for that.

And there is going to be a day where I’m not going to do it anymore, where I’m going to decide it is time for the show to end and I’m going to move on and I’m going to do something else. And if I were to see that as my end all be all purpose, it would block me from whatever my next blessing is, whatever my next assignment is.

Whatever my next chapter is. And so I think sometimes we tend to hold on to these things so tightly when it’s not meant to be a forever thing. It’s meant to be an experience. It’s meant to be a teacher. And there can be so much goodness outside of what we can even see. You know, I, I think about my early career, my early twenties, my first experiences in corporate, and I felt so good.

I was so hung up on this idea of purpose and that work has to be my purpose and that I had to figure it out right out of college. And if I would have continued to hold on to that, I wouldn’t even be doing what I’m doing now because podcasting didn’t really exist the way it, it does now. The idea of being a full time podcaster, uh, wasn’t a thing.

So if I were to confine myself to finding a purpose in that moment, when there was so much incredible work to be done in the world that didn’t even exist yet, then I would have missed the opportunity to do something really great or to have a great assignment. And so, I get people that ask me all the time, what is your purpose or balance black girls, your purpose?

How do you feel about that? And I was like, it’s not my purpose. I don’t even know if I needed to find purpose. I think I’m, I’m taking the lessons as they come. I’m taking the assignments as they come. And one day when it’s time to move on to something else, I will do that and it will be okay. So that was a really long winded.

answer. I don’t even know if I answered your question. You did. It was a 

Akua: beautiful answer. But yes, I literally, when I was on my walk after dropping off my crazy pup and I heard that I stopped, I literally stopped in the middle of my walk because I was having a really hard time with that. I think I have grown up, um, you know, I’m first generation, my family from Ghana, they immigrated to the U.

S. and so like instantly was, told on me, especially when you have like your family who have given up so much for you to build a better life for you. It’s like instantly I had this pressure on me. And so heavily that I’m still deconstructing, still working through. I felt like my work was, my identity was tied to my work heavily.

And so even when I launched my business, when I became the host of this show and I was exhausted and it wasn’t, time at all. Like people, like people are gonna be very surprised hearing this. I’ve never shared this, but when I first got the podcast, I was exhausted. I was stressed because I felt like this was now my purpose and that my identity was tied to my worth.

So when the numbers. We’re not adding up, right? Like when the numbers weren’t where I wanted them to be, when I was not hitting the specific goals, I was defeated and exhausted every single week. So when I heard that episode, it truly like came out of desperation for me. You know what I mean? But I think it’s just so important for business owners to really hear that because truly like, and then I thought about my own journey in the past where.

When I realized, once I finally had let go and just allowed what is to be and how it had led me into so many different directions where I wouldn’t even be sitting in this point here. So then I was like, okay, cool. This is an assignment for you. You don’t know what’s going to happen. Right? Like my business, even in this current season, my business, this is an assignment.

And so I was like, all right. Now I’m just going to be a sponge and I’m just soaking up whatever good and bad and the ugly just soaking it up as much as I can because I just was like, and, and now I’m having more fun now I’m having, we’re like, I’m having people like you on the show. We’re just having like real life conversations about what this truly looks like.

And this feels more aligned with me. And I think if I didn’t hear that, that this was an assignment that my purpose is not tied to my work. It is tied to. Like, you know, like, we are multi faceted individuals. I don’t think I would have been enjoying it as much as I do now. 

Les: Yeah. Oh, I’m so happy to hear that.

That’s such a beautiful reframe. 

Akua: Yeah. So, like, that’s why I’m always like, y’all, go listen to the show. Like, I just, I’m even saying that. Just in general. I’ma, I’ma put in a shameless plug. I have no shame. Like, truly, because I think it was just such, Such a good reminder that again, like our purpose is more than that.

And even with you have some, like you have built this very large community and you’re like, I have no problem hanging it up. And I think sometimes as business owners, when I, and I’ve had personal conversations with other business owners, they have a huge community and they, that pressure that you were talking about, they also feel it.

And even the thought of them hanging it up, it’s like absolutely not. And so I think. Just overall, I think just detaching. How have you been able to just really detach from a lot of these things, right? That I think naturally us as human beings, we find ourselves that our worth is tied to it. How have you just been able to attach and just be like, detach, and just be like, you know what, this is, this is the journey.

This is just what I’m leaning into. 

Les: I think a lot of it has been watching other people that I admire do that in their perspective careers, you know, from a very young age, like Oprah has been one of my biggest aspirations. And I, when I was younger, like I wanted to be Oprah when I grew up. And I remember what a big deal it was when she ended the show back in 2011, 2012.

I mean, she’d spent almost 30 years on air with this amazing iconic show and decided to step away to create her network and to focus on other things and to pour into herself and her life and to garden and Seeing examples like that, or another big inspiration for me is Issa Rae. And when it was time for Insecure to end, for her to focus on other things, she, she did it and, and ended the show and walked away from it to do other things.

Or I think about people like Elaine Welteroth, when it was time to leave Teen Vogue and to do other things, that is what she did. So seeing so many examples of other people who I really admire and look up to, no, When it’s time to close a chapter and move on to something else. Also, by the way, Balanced Black Girls is not going anywhere anytime soon.

I’m not, it’s not. Yeah. No, no, no. But at some point it will. I plan on, you know, continuing it for quite a while, but when I do get that call or get that pull to move into a new chapter, I have no problem doing so because of the examples of the women who I just mentioned. Seeing them be able to step away from these iconic things to step into other assignments and do other things just gives me permission to feel like I can do the same.

Akua: Yes, and I loved all of those examples because like Oprah and Easter Egg and at times like I know we all know Oprah But because all everything else that she has built outside of the talk show. I forget that she had a talk show You know what? I mean like I now realize and like only time I remember is when it’s like the funny gift was like you get a car You get a car, you know, that’s the only time but it’s so true.

Like we are Yeah, like now I think of her beyond that and so how she’s been able to just pivot and same thing with Issa Rae, like she was known for it. We all love Insecure every time on HBO, but she did such a beautiful way to end the season and now all of her other projects that we all support and so I think that’s just such a beautiful thing.

Such a great reminder that the permission is that if you feel called to do something else, it is okay to, to step away and, and do something. And I think of the same thing of just even with me, the former host, Natalie, who had the show and then gave it to me because she felt called to do something else.

And I felt called to do this. And I think it’s just such a beautiful journey of life and entrepreneurship that you don’t have to hold onto things so tightly because sometimes you’ll miss The opportunities that await you on the other side. So just like let go and, and enjoy, enjoy the journey. 

Les: I think even a more personal example of that was my initial platform.

I initially started off as a blogger. I created a blog, the balance barrier. That was how I got my start in content. And for a long time, I knew that that platform wasn’t really the thing, but I kept doing it thinking, okay, I’ll Stop and I’ll quit this when I get a better idea. And finally, I just had to pause.

I had to walk away from it, sunset the blog, and just walk away from content altogether for a while. And then during that time away was when I got the idea for Balanced Black Girl. So sometimes you also have to be willing to pause. without knowing what the next step is so that that next thing can have room to come in.

Akua: Yes. That is such a, such a, such a good point. And for you, cause you said like, how did you know when to pause? Like you said, you were doing something that just wasn’t working because I think of my, I think I know somebody’s going to ask that question. Like, I don’t know how exactly when they know when the right time is to pause, but I think of myself of when I took a break from my business.

For a year, and I still had clients on retainer, so I was still getting an income, but I wasn’t taking any one-to-one work. I stepped away and I just remember the things for me of. This was the time for me to do that. I just more so for me, listening a lot to my body. Like if I felt like, all right, I’m starting to do this work.

I’m not finding the joy in it. I’m not exactly enjoying it. I’m starting to resent it. I’m feeling burnt out. I loved my clients, but the work just did not light me up. And I was like, all right, I need to step away. So for you, how did you know when it was the right time? To pause. 

Les: I mean, at that time it was pretty easy because it wasn’t that successful.

Yeah. It’s not like I was making money. It wasn’t like, you know, I’d had a small community at that point, but it wasn’t going to be devastating if it went away. And so, yeah, a lot of it was just my own stubbornness of being like, this is not working. This is not serving you or really anybody else. And it’s just time to take a pause.

But I do think sometimes it is harder to walk away when something is working or when it is your livelihood or, you know, and I think everybody has to kind of figure out what that looks like for themselves because we are the only ones living in our bodies. We are the only ones who know how it feels when we’re doing soul crushing work or when something is out of alignment.

And I think sometimes we get so caught up in wanting all of this advice from other people. But you’re the only one living that experience and maybe you can hear stories of other people, but ultimately you are the one running your business. You are the one with your responsibilities and your finances.

You are the only one living your life. So how do you want your life to feel? It doesn’t matter how I felt or what I did, like, what do you, what do you want? What feels good to you? What doesn’t feel good to you? And learning how to check in with ourselves about that is really, really important. 

Akua: Very important.

And the thing, a question I always ask myself of checking in, I always say like, am I going to be able to sleep at night with the decisions that I have made? That’s something I ask myself every single time, um, whether it’s taking advice. Like I now, I think of my friend, Lily Shum says, take what you need.

And so every time I’m, you know, consuming some type of content, Certain things I don’t agree with and I leave it there and other things I take with me. And I always ask myself like, who are you going to be able to sleep at night with the decisions that you’ve made during the day? And if the answer is no, then I don’t do it.

And if the answer is yes, I, I push forward. And I think for me, that has been such a game changer. So when people come to me of like, even with business or ask them what to do, I’m like, look, I can tell you what to do, but I always say to them, are you gonna be able to sleep at the end of the night with whatever your decision is?

So I think that’s just so important. Such a, a good reminder of like, we get so caught up and with what everybody else is doing and thinking like, okay, well this worked for them, so this has to work for me. But it’s like, that’s not necessarily true. So it’s like, again, like honor yourself, check in with yourself.

So love that you have cultivated this community. What does community look like to you now? I think for you, as Balanced Black Girl continues to grow, how do you see your community evolving? What have, have there been any, uh, I guess key moments that you have seen in your journey where you’re like, all right, like I’m on to something here in terms of building a community.

Let me lean more into that to where it’s just like, have built a very thriving community where you guys really support each other, honor each other. Um, what does that look like for you? 

Les: I think what I created with Balance Black Girl, and I didn’t realize that this is what I was doing at the time, but I had the community in mind before I did anything else.

So I get asked. Every day about advice for podcasting, people who have podcasts and they say, how do I get more listeners? How do I grow my show? How do I get people interested in what I’m saying? And I honestly don’t really know necessarily what to tell people because I feel like when you have that approach when you put a show out there and then you’re trying to get people to care about it, you’re almost doing it backwards.

When I came up with Balanced Black Girl, the first thing I identified is who is the listener. So my initial group of listeners who I had in mind were Millennial women of color who were interested in wellness, but didn’t have anywhere else to get wellness content that they felt applied to them. That was the very, before I even sat down to record an episode, I knew that was who I was talking to.

So while, yes, I have had to do a lot of work to grow my show, The people who that, who met that description, the second they heard my show, they knew this is what I’ve been looking for, and they were able to rally around it, and I think that the community has been really organic, because I created it with the community in mind, as opposed to just saying, I’m going to put stuff out there, and I’m going to talk about stuff, and hope that I can get people to care about it, I figured out who the people were, and what they cared about, and then I started talking about what they cared about.

Akua: Yes. Oh my gosh. And facts, because I remember the first, I don’t remember what the first episode was that I listened to years ago, and I was like, I was one of the people where I was like, this is it. This is what I’m looking for. As like, because you know, in certain wellness spaces, like, there just wasn’t the representation.

I felt like certain things just didn’t apply to me as a black woman. And when I heard you, and I don’t even remember what episode it was, but I just was like, This was it. You have to put people first, like, right. Coming from a place of service, right? Like, I think that’s, what’s so, so key, especially for podcasting, because it is not an easy thing to build a show.

And that is something I have learned. If you want to build a sustainable show, you have to center people. And I think for me, even you just even like affirm that even for me, where I was like, I have to let go. And I’m like, I just want to think of the business owners and I just want them to hear these stories of these other entrepreneurs that are with them, that are in their journey.

It has led to something just being such a much more fun thing. And then also to like, just how, and I see it in the community of how you’ve been able to organically build is just like putting people at the center and honoring them. And like, this is the content that I’m building it for. And so. As you continue to evolve, as your podcasting grows, what are, what are some of your hot takes, I guess, in like, uh, community, entrepreneurship, podcasting?

What are your thoughts? Any hot takes? I mean, 

Les: I think just my hot take is it’s going to be really hard to cultivate a community. If you’re doing it purely because you want to talk and I think sometimes with podcasting that can be What trips people up is they think well, I just want to talk or me and my friends are really funny So we’re just going to create a podcast but they’re not at all thinking about who is on the other side Why is, why would somebody who does not know you want to listen to this?

What is it that they are getting out of this? And if you can’t explain what they’re getting out of it, then you should workshop it a little bit more until you can figure out what can people get out of it. And I think sometimes people get very focused on, you know, building a platform or trying to get traction or trying to get fame.

And I do think that. TikTok as a platform has really contributed to that because we have seen people blow up and go viral so quickly that It it has made it seem like if you have slow growth that you’re a failure And i’ve had the slowest growth like everybody i’ve been doing this for 10 years And I still don’t have like super impressive numbers by any means But I just have had consistency and I think consistency is more important than virality You 

Akua: Yes.

Oh my gosh, that’s so true. And I love that you brought up TikTok because what I have seen too is people have blown up and they’ve gone viral and then they’ve started the podcast, right? And so, and I have tried absolutely to listen to some of the podcasts, which they’re, I mean, it obviously just depends on like what your vibe is, but some of them are, you know, I’m just, they’re just talking to talk.

And all I hear is like every two seconds and I’m like, you know what I mean? I think to your point again, it’s like if you’re wanting to podcast. Listen to your audience because you even when you create your series, it’s always very intentional. It’s very timely, intentional. Like I can tell that there’s so much thought that you put in into each one.

I think I remember for like Black History Month, you had like black people doing cool ish. I loved that series as well. And then like you had, you definitely have done episodes on friendship, which I have loved like every single time. Um, I always feel like it’s with me in mind. And so, especially as even if you are somebody that’s wanting to be podcasting, even just content in general, really sitting down and knowing who your target audience, but also asking them like, what could they potentially need in this season from me?

What can I give them within my journey? That’s going to be the most beneficial, the most valuable to them. And I think that is just such, I think we hear that all the time. No, your target audience is such an elementary thing, but it is such a valuable thing because it really does dictate it. Every single step that you make in terms of your content and consistency.

Cause there’s been days where I’m like, damn, look at the numbers. I’m like, all right. You know what I mean? But I look at it as like, it’s a learning point. Okay. Maybe they didn’t fully relate to this, but maybe there’s something within that topic that I can use and then build another thing off of that and everything that you’re doing, you’re just.

Building on top of the other, on top of the other. And so I absolutely love that. You know, as you look back on your journey and I feel like, again, I sound like a creep, but I know your birthday is coming up or did it already come? Your birthday is coming, right? It’s coming later this year. Later this summer.

And so you were turning 35 and so for you, when you go back and look at your journey and if you could go back and say something to younger, less, right. Or like somebody who’s starting in their own business journey, what would you say to them? 

Les: Start sooner. And everything is data. Whether something does well or does not do well, it’s not a reflection of you and your worth.

It is all information. So look at it from the lens of information. And apply the information to what you do next. Don’t let it discourage you. 

Akua: Yes. Oh, love that. Love that so much. Les, this has been such an amazing, amazing conversation. And so I have one more question for you because we end every single episode with this.

What do you, this might’ve actually been the other answer before, but curious to hear your take on it. What do you think is the biggest differentiator between the businesses that succeed and the ones that fail? 

Les: Similarly to that last point, I think. Businesses that succeed are led by people who are willing to use the data to make decisions, and it’s not whether or not they’ve ever failed.

It’s what do they learn from those failures, and if they’re able to take those learnings and apply it, and you keep applying it, and you keep doing it, there’s no way that you won’t succeed. Now, it may not look the way you want it to look. It may not happen as quickly as you want it to happen, but if you’re willing to use the data, you’ll get there.

Akua: You’ll get there. Oh, I love that. And so that is just, it’s such, it’s such a great reminder. And so even for you, and I’m adding this other question, y’all, I’m so lame. You’ll be like, girl, how many questions do you got? I mean, but what is next for you? You know, as you are, you know, in this new, like, as you’re looking forward ahead, what is next for you?

Especially as like some of the amazing advice that you’ve given. Where do you see yourself? Or if you see, where? I don’t know. Just let us know. 

Les: You know, I’m, I’m almost halfway done. through my 30s, as we just mentioned, and I’m really enjoying this season that I am in. I’m now podcasting full time, which is still pretty new.

I recently left my corporate job to explore doing this full time, exploring, building other businesses that are entirely different and more so doing it from the, for the plot, doing it to see. see, can I do it and what does that look like? And really just having fun building things for the rest of my thirties and then in my forties, I would love to scale back from all of it.

I would love to write some fiction and I would love to just have a a really quiet, probably mostly offline life. And so, uh, yeah, that’s what I’m really hoping to do over the next few years. 

Akua: Yes. I love that though. Yes. I think I, I’m, I turn, I’m 35 and I’ll be 36 in December and I have absolutely loved being in my thirties.

And yes, I view it as like right now. It’s a time to build and just lean in and, uh, come from a place of curiosity, right? Like as you’re even going, like I said, you’re going into full time. I’m now full time in podcasting myself and everything I’ve had to say of like, to your point, it’s just data to keep learning.

It’s curiosity. Let’s try this. Let’s try that. Let’s see what works, what doesn’t work. And so I think it just speaks to the beautiful journey of, of entrepreneurship of life. And we are absolutely cheering you on. And so for people that want to connect with you, uh, where can they find you? 

Les: Yes. Thank you so much for having me.

So you can listen to my podcast, Balance Black Girl. I come out with new episodes every single Tuesday, wherever you get your podcasts, Apple, Spotify. I also do video episodes on YouTube, if that’s your thing. And then if you’re just more interested in following me and my journey, you can follow me at balanceless on Instagram and TikTok.

Yes. 

Akua: And please y’all go follow the show. I mean, it’s fine. Please follow the show. Please 

Les: subscribe. Yes. Please follow the show. 

Akua: Subscribe. Yes. Listen. And so, yes. Thank you so much, Les, for this just amazing conversation. And for everybody listening, until next time. That ends our episode of the Independent Business Podcast.

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