BONUS EP 02: Leveraging Entrepreneurship to Do Good in the World
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Everette Taylor has started, or been part-owner of, eight different companies in his career. Through his work, he focuses on marketing, social media, events, and more. However, he also uses his brands under ET Enterprises to contribute work toward causes he’s passionate about. He’s formalized a process for contributing college scholarships to underprivileged students. He’s co-founded a software that’s intended to help people struggling with addiction and their families. And he’s consistently involved in other movements, such as Black Girls Code, that lift up the black community.
Even by the standards of a fellow entrepreneur, Everette goes above and beyond to do exceptional work. But when asked what drives him, or what makes him unique, his response is simple: I’m wired this way.
He consistently works to push the boundaries of who he is as a person to elevate himself, elevate the people around him who he cares about, and continue to put his best foot forward as he says “yes” to the work that he’s passionate about.
This episode is inspirational for anyone who is looking to explore personal growth. Everette is an incredible testament to the incredible things that hard work, mental health care, and focusing on doing good in the world can do.
What You'll Learn:
The importance of mental health and self care
Why entrepreneurship can be a way of self expression
How you can support marginalized groups of people through your work
The importance of family and relationships
How to discover your “why”
Saying yes to causes and work that lights you up
How to be intentional with your time as an entrepreneur
How to be honest with ourselves about our work, relationships, and growth
Why we should all strive to be the best versions of ourselves
The importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion as an entrepreneur
How to step into your authentic self
How businesses can build diverse, supportive, and inclusive communities within their organization
Show Notes:
Episode Transcript
Rianka: 00:00 Everette, welcome to 2050 TrailBlazers.
Everette: 00:03 Thank you. Thank you so much. I'm really glad to be here.
Rianka: 00:05 Thank you so much for saying yes. I know you are very busy individual. So when you said yes. I got super excited because before we officially kick off season three of 2050 trailblazers, I wanted to have a celebration of black history month. Um, I wanted to celebrate and highlight trailblazers not only within the financial planning profession but also outside and when I was thinking of the individuals that I wanted to reach out to you immediately came to mind.
Everette: 00:37 Wow. That feels good. It's always still weird for me to be acknowledged and celebrated because I feel like I'm just doing what I should be doing, so I'm always appreciative and humble, so thank you.
Rianka: 00:54 Absolutely. Absolutely. So for those who do not know, Everette and I, we met back in college at Virginia Tech and you know, as I was preparing for our conversation, although I follow you very closely on social media, I just wanted to, you know, like what was his first business and I saw that it was a event marketing company and I think back to our time at Virginia Tech and it's like, well Duh, because you were the ones helping with the parties and the pictures. And I was like, wow, you had that tenacity. You had the ambition to transition a hobby to a business, which a lot of people can't do. So what was it in you to make you want to become a business owner?
Everette: 01:47 That was, it was really interesting for me. Um, I just did what I knew, like you said, when I, when I was in college my freshman year, when we're in school together, you know, I was the guy helping other people make money. I saw pretty much the ins and outs of how to throw an event. Um, what it takes. The type of marketing that you need to provide to get people out and I didn't realize and I think a lot of people that are aspiring entrepreneurs or aspiring business people don't realize is sometimes you're acquiring knowledge to build your business without you even realizing it. And that was the case for me. So after my freshman year, I went to school for a few weeks, my sophomore year I had to drop out of college and I went back home and I was applying for all these different jobs and no one was giving me an opportunity and I just grew frustrated and I said, you know, how can I make, how can I make some extra money?
Everette: 02:51 I ended up having to take a minimum wage job with this store called Joanne fabrics. But I was like, I need to, I need to make more money. And I remembered how when I was in high school, we had these like teen parties, you know, if you're under 18,
Rianka: 03:07 I remember those.
Everette: 03:07 um, uh, yeah. And then, um, you know, back in Richmond there wasn't a lot of 18 and up options that were like safe. You know, it's like, oh, you're going to go there, but they shooting the club or they're shooting outside. And so I was like, you know, what do you do if you're 18, 19, 20 years old and just want to have a good time. And so that's when I started my first company and you know, I realized that there was a need in the market for what I was trying to do in other different cities and towns.
Everette: 03:44 And then I was fortunate, you know, timing wise, to meet two people in Prichard Hall that were engineers my freshman year that helped me build the technology around it. I didn't realize I was even building a tech company. I was just trying to build tools to make experiences better. Um, and so once I did that and I kept that pretty low key, but once I did that, you know, that really gave me the uh, the entrepreneurs, you know, the entrepreneurial bug
Rianka: 04:13 Yes, it's a bug it's a bug
Everette: 04:18 and so much so that, um, I don't know if you know this, but you know, I actually came back to school after I sold that company and came back. Imagine being in Blacksburg would a Porsche, right?
Rianka: 04:32 Wow, I don't think I knew that.
Everette: 04:32 Yeah. I came back to school had a drop top Porsche, you know, all these things that I'm pledging. Ended up pledging Alpha and uh, you know, did the whole thing, but I was literally in school thinking this is a waste of my time just because I know what I really, really, really, really want it.
Rianka: 04:51 And so eventually you dropped out.
Everette: 04:53 Yeah.
Rianka: 04:54 Like Kanye West, song College dropout. Like you lived it, not just sung about it. And so over the past decade, which is crazy to say because you're still under 30, you have started four companies and part owned four companies. So over the past 10 years you've had your hand in eight companies and it sounds like that first business was the catalyst for you. It's just like where and how did all these other businesses, where did they come from? For the listeners who may not know that Everett Taylor, like I know you, like give us a little bit more history about you. Everette: 05:35 Has it been eight companies? I don't really keep up with this stuff. So my first company, my first company was EZ Events, terrible name, but that was my first company. I sold that when I was 21. And then like I said, I went back to school for a couple years and I was super close to graduating. So it wasn't like Kanye dropping out after a year, you know, I was very, um, very close to graduating and I understand how important my time at Virginia Tech was, you know, I don't discredit that time and the people I met and the experiences that I had because that, you know, built me into the person that I am today. And um, so I, so I drop out because I get an opportunity, uh, to be head of marketing for a company called Qualaroo led by a guy by the name of Sean Ellis who, you know, led marketing at Dropbox, Eventbright, Log Me In, all these companies.
Everette: 06:42 And um, he sought me out because my first company actually had an event, bright light, an event bright light feature. So, you know, he saw that I, you know, I scaled that, sold it even though it wasn't like a crazy amount of money. Um, and so I had been on his radar and essentially he asked me, you know, a 23 year old to, you know, leave Virginia and come out and lead marketing for his company. And I knew that I needed to, to, to gain that experience. Um, and so I did. It was shortly thereafter, a few months later, while we're still building that company, I started my second company with him and another guy called Growth Hackers, which is actually still around now, growth hackers.com, um, which is a website community slash software company. Um, and then, uh, the company Qualaroo actually got acquired, which I was head of marketing for and um, I went onto become. Everette: 07:44 Oh, let me backtrack before, um, that company got acquired. I actually started my marketing firm MilliSense, um, which is named after my mother. And so, um, you know, the first company kinda to keep track, the first company was, I didn't know what I was doing. I really didn't. And it was just something that I kind of knew how to do. The second company was a very, very much so. I just happened to be there, right place, right time situation. Um, it wasn't my idea. I mean I've built it, don't, don't get me wrong. I put the work in, I built it, I built that community, I built that user base, but right place, right time. Um, but the third company MilliSense I'm really proud of because it was really the first company where I, it was like an original idea for me, you know, um, where the first company.
Everette: 08:42 It was like, I kinda saw what other people are doing. The second company I kind of got thrown into the mix. MilliSense was great because I realized my brand as a marketer was growing and people were coming to me to consult for marketing and I needed to find a way to scale that into a business. And that's what I did. Um, so that third company was MilliSense um after Qualaroo was acquired. I went onto become CMO of Sticker Mule. I remember when I had joined that company, we had some conversations and I was 25 at the time, so I was there for awhile, for a for a year and a half, two years, and during that time I had started working on, uh, my most successful company, which is Pop Social. Um, and so I left Sticker Mule, did some work for Microsoft for awhile as head of growth for um, China, um, and their mobile apps out of China.
Everette: 09:38 Um, and then simultaneously I became CMO of a startup called Skurt, which was an on demand rental car company that would eventually get acquired by fair.com. And I launched Pop Social. Um, like I said was just my blue chip company, which is a social media software company, which has been very, very successful. And since then I've launched a Art Noire. Um, yeah, it's, I'm really excited about that, which is a media and technology company with the mission to elevate black visual art. Um, I launched a nonprofit called Southside Fund. I was already given away college scholarships and things like that, but I wanted to formalize that process and help out kids from, you know, southside of Richmond where I was from by giving them scholarships and mentorship. Um, and I also became part owner of a company called Hayver, um, which is a, a software for drug and alcohol addiction. Um, so 2018 was a very, very, a busy year for me. Um, and I established all of this under ET Enterprises, which there's six, six different brands under, um, under ET Enterprises and uh, you know, um, it's been interesting. It's been really interesting.
Rianka: 11:07 It sounds like for you, you personally are able to have an idea and manifest it into a business. So how, how are you able to shift that idea, you know, the things that are coming to you and say, you know, what, I'm going to start a business. Like what is it in you? Any like, what's that? Because you already busy Everette: 11:32 Yeah, big busy and I'm, and I'm thinking of other companies in 2019, you know? Interesting. It was really, really important for me to establish ET Enterprises and I know that people aren't as familiar with ET Enterprises as my individual brands, but when you talk about legacy, a lot of people don't realize is that I own pretty much, almost all of the brands, like 100 percent, right? Um outside of Hayver and Growth Hackers. The other four brands I own 100 percent of the brand, right? Um, which is really, really interesting in a time where people are raising capital and giving up ownership and things like that. You know, for me, I remember this, this, this Kobe Bryant quote, when someone asks them what motivates you, what pushes you, what makes you Kobe? And he said nothing. He said, I'm just wired this way. You know, when I spoke to you when I was 25 years old and I became CMO of Sticker Mule, I remember having a conversation with you and I really started thinking about wealth creation and a, you know, really starting to build for myself and it, things have blown up since and I'm at a point where I'm very, very comfortable financially.
Everette: 12:52 I've accomplished things that I set out to accomplish. I remember going into to my 29th year and saying, wow, like everything I said I wanted to accomplish before 30, I accomplished already, but I'm still hungry. It's just, that's just who I am. I don't think I need any outside motivation. Of course I have doubters. Of course I have haters, but that doesn't really fuel me. Um, I just wake up every day and it's like, let's get it. So I don't really have this, like I don't have this cool thing. That's just how I'm wired. That's just how I'm built and I'm going to continue to move forward and continue to push and elevate myself because I always want to know how much more I'm capable of and, and what else I can do. I want to push the boundaries of who I am as a person to tap in into my full potential.
Rianka: 13:57 That's phenomenal. Everette, one of the things that I know as far as entrepreneurs and serial entrepreneurs is that we say yes to a lot of things when we know internally we should be saying no, but it's just like you. It's like this feeling of not wanting to let down people. So what are some of the ways that you support your mental health? And I, and I'm bringing this up specifically in, am I, I'm not using code words with it because within the black community, just like finances, you just don't talk about it. Like mental health is, that's just something we just don't talk about. So what are some of the ways that you are supporting yourself? Um, you know, from a mental health standpoint?
Everette: 14:41 Yeah. So in full transparency, I was really, really bad at this for a very, very long time. I am, it's, it's, it's like I'm recovering from being bad to myself like I am. I'm recovering from that because, and you can probably relate to this. I feel that our generation, the millennial generation in particular, we were spoon fed the grind, grind, grind, lose sleep, you know, sacrifice, everything to get where you're going, which is actually very awful advice it's, it's, it's just terrible because what's the point of getting to that point and you're depressed or you're not happy or you don't have strong or good people around you, you know? Um, so my mindset really, really changed because you want to have people that you can celebrate success with and you want to have people that you can get out of the office or get off your computer and enjoy, enjoy life.
Everette: 16:00 And so these days I'm being very much so intentional about enjoying life and doing the things that I want to do. There's a basketball game I want to go to, I'm going to go to it. If there's a movie I want to see, I'm going to see it. If I want to go to this concert, I'm going to do it. There was a time and point for years where I literally did not have fun. I didn't have fun. And so it was weird because from the outside people were like celebrating me and saying like, Oh, you're so amazing, you're doing so great. So many great things. And internally I felt awful, you know? And, and my, my friend Alex Wolfe has a saying where she says, you know, who are you at 3:00 AM when you're by yourself, that's who you truly are. That's when, you know, we'll go to speaking engagements.
Everette: 16:57 We'll do, I'll do interviews like this or whatever. And it's easy to put on a face but, who are you at 3:00 AM at night, all alone by yourself, like who, who are you and that person, you know, beyond all the Forbes interviews and all that other stuff, that person wasn't a happy person. So I had to really reevaluate and change how I was living in my life and making time, you know, not to first thing in the morning, hop on my laptop or hop on my phone or um, you know, giving myself to breathe to meditate. And so yeah, it's really just making time for, for loved ones are. There was a time in point where I wasn't even going home like that, you know, so I am now prioritizing the people that I love and not bringing that toxicity in my life by being just to myself and just heads down on work. And so yeah, I think really the self care is just making sure to surround myself with the people that I love and making time to do the things that I love to do. Um, along with, you know, taking time to take time for myself and really clear my head and meditate and things like that. Rianka: 18:15 It's something I've had to learn along the way as well and I'm just truly taken time away and just being off being so disconnected where I don't even have wifi because it's like you grind so hard and it's like you work so hard in your mind, you're like, well, I'm doing it for my family. Right? But it's like, but if, but if at the end of the day you lose contact or you lose that relationship or that bond with your family well, well, why were you doing it in the first place? Right. And so I try to, that's kind of how I balance myself of just remembering the why
Everette: 18:54 And it's being able to be honest with ourselves about that.
Rianka: 18:57 Yes.
Everette: 18:58 Yeah. Having those honest conversations with ourselves and like I'm not the greatest son right now. I'm not the greatest brother, or the greatest best friend. So you have to be able to look at yourself and see those things. Rianka: 19:10 Absolutely. But I, but I will say I did have a chance to go to Chile and visit family that I've never met before. So it's a balance, you know, it's a balance, it's a balance. Um, so I want to switch gears a little bit and something that I'm very passionate about, which is the basis of this podcast 2050 trailblazers is diversity, equity and inclusion. And over the past couple of seasons we've talked about DEI. We've talked about, um, feeling like truly stepping into your authentic self. Um, and not code switching. I have a really great episode when I talked to a colleague of mine, her name is Phuong Luong. And it wasn't until I spoke to her that I realized I was code switching. I would wear my hair straight to work or I would say things a certain way so that I could feel accepted in corporate America. And honestly now I'm going into my fourth year of just, of being in business for myself. I feel the most happiest, the most authentic, and I've actually received more business, more whatever, because I'm able to be myself. Um, and so for you, my question for you is like, how did you learn to just be Everette?
Everette: 20:36 For me, I realize there was a time in point, that you know, I tried to fit in fit in a lot of different ways, whether it was, you know, being an Alpha and dressing a certain type of way or you know, this is the cool way to dress. Or um, when it came to my career, you know, presenting myself in a certain way. Right? And I learned really, really fast and I couldn't be that person, you know, I couldn't, I couldn't do that. And that's why entrepreneurship has been such a release for me because it's really an FU to the establishment. Honestly, I love that. I can be 100 percent who I am as a person and not have to sacrifice my moral integrity for a dollar and it feels really, really good and I try not to be judgmental to an extent because there is a difference when you have a job and you are completely reliant on that job in a perception of those people that hold that job over your head, right?
Everette: 21:51 In their perception of you and I understand that pressure of hey, I need to be a certain way so that I maintain my livelihood. And I think, I think a lot of people when they get on people who code switch should do things they don't really understand, especially entrepreneurs, right? Where we have so much freedom and we have way more ability and leg room to be ourselves. Um, I still don't think it's right. I still don't think it's, it's, it's like Bro, go find a job where you can be who you are and be your true self. But at the same time, I do understand that man, I've been there before. I've been homeless. I've been in situations where, you know, I was dependent on somebody else for my livelihood and I never want to feel that again. So, um, you know, for us, I just think it's so important for us to just be our true selves and let people accept us for who we are, I think it's weird.
Everette: 23:00 Have you seen the movie Sorry to Bother You?
Rianka: 23:01 No.
Everette: 23:02 Oh man, yeah, you got to see that. But I think one of the things that, about code switching is that when you're acting that much and you know, we're, we're, we're, you know, working a large percentage of our lives, um, that starts to integrate into your real life in, you know, then it becomes confused. And so I think we have to be very, very mindful of being true to ourselves and not sacrificing who we are. Um, because there's always other options. There's always other routes and you just have to be able to kind of take that leap of faith.
Rianka: 23:44 Absolutely. And I hear you on the code switching and I didn't even know what it was until I had that conversation. And so it's just bringing awareness to it, like code swhichers anonymous, let's have some meetings about it. And um, yeah. And, and I mean even from a society perspective, it's like you grow up thinking that professional hair and I keep going back to hair because he's like the easiest thing to identify with as a woman. It's like you grow up thinking straight hair was professional hair and so we, you know, you know, kill ourself in the morning time trying to rush for work, straighten our hair and depending on the texture of your hair you can be doing some damage. Um, and I, and I spoke about this for the first time last year at a diversity summit about, you know, when I learned I was code switching, um, and so many women came up to me specifically African American women and was just like, thank you for just saying that out loud in a room full of white people so they can understand the mental strain it takes on us.
Rianka: 24:58 And when people come up and touch our hair and just be like, oh, your hair was different last week. Like what, what did you do to, and it's just like, yeah, it's so we can go, I can go down a rabbit hole with that one, but, but yes, um, to feel comfortable and if you have to take baby steps of just like truly bringing out your true self to the workplace because we're missing out. Like if you don't bring your true self, like the world is missing out on the true Everette. The world is missing out on the true Rianka and I'm so blessed to be able to be who I am unapologetically. So what are some of the successes happening in the market space in, in, you know, in marketing and the, I dunno, VC, you know, in regards to diversity, equity and inclusion and for I try not to use acronyms. So VC is like venture capitalists. I have no idea in that space like I up until, you know, I'm doing this podcast, have I ever raised money. Um, and so yeah. What are some of the successes happening, um, that you want to shed some light on? What are some of the things that, you know, we just need to work on.
Everette: 26:12 Interesting question. In the world of tech is very, very interesting. I think diversity and inclusion has become this buzz word that isn't necessarily about action. And so when I think about success, I don't think about success when I hear diversity inclusion, I think of like stagnation. I think of a lot of people talking, talking, talking, but not doing. For me, when it comes to diversity inclusion, I try not focus too much on what others are doing and rather focus on what I'm doing to make a change. And so for myself, that means hiring people of color, hiring diverse people, hiring women. Like I know that I can personally have a positive effect through my own actions. I can have a positive effect by giving out scholarships to diverse people, right? From diverse backgrounds. I can affect change by mentorship and putting people in the right places and intros and, and, and giving those, giving them those opportunities.
Everette: 27:24 Right? So for me, I think if we individually took a step back instead of complaining or you know, making a lot of noise about a lot of different things and just say, Hey, what can I personally do? Right? What can I do to affect change? Can you imagine if everyone took a step back and said, what can I personally do? So what I'm doing is a little, it's like a blip on the radar, but if everyone is doing something small, right, are doing their best to change things, then we'll have a big change. You know, I just don't think that enough people are saying, hey here, here's how I'm going to pro actively bring change. And that's the difference.
Rianka: 28:12 That is a huge difference. Um, and that's something that I live. Um, everyday I've always been that type of person where I don't look around for someone to do it. I just end up doing it, which is probably why I have three businesses now. So being bit by that entrepreneurial bug is real. Right. And so what, what are some of the things you mentioned that you have your, you are doing something specifically like that the diversity scholarship or on providing jobs and internships. If there was like an executive asking Everette, like what can we be doing to attract more people of color or more women? What is some of the advice that you will give to them?
Everette: 29:03 Yeah, for me, it's are you creating an environment in which they're going to be comfortable? It's so interesting. You know, it's, it's people are not cultivating environments that are comfortable to diverse people. Right? So it's like, okay, you can hire a few black people, but if they come into an environment where they're not happy or they don't feel comfortable, then what's the point? You know, you're not going to be able to retain people. You're not going to have happy employees. That retention rate is not going to be high. And that's still like a negative thing. You know, there's, there's traumatic experiences that black and brown people or diverse people are dealing with, or women that are dealing with everyday, you know, in their workplaces. And so I think there needs to be a challenge to providing more, you know, safer, healthier environments to bring people into. I've seen certain companies, you know, focus on hiring a diverse candidates and things like that.
Everette: 30:03 And then those diverse candidates get there and they're like, man, what the hell, I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna name any companies, but I've seen it firsthand like black people going into some of these companies and leaving very, very quickly. I think, you know, really establishing an an environment that's conducive for these people is very, very important. And then also integrating yourself within the culture and where these people are, you know, there's still so many big companies that aren't even recruiting at HBCUs or going into different places where, you know, diverse candidates are, you know, if you're not even trying, that's, that's awful. And then people need to check people because the amount of power that some of these people have in terms of decision making and recruiting and things like that. It's, it's nuts. You know, it's nuts. Like I know there are certain companies where you can, you can interview with 10 different people.
Everette: 31:01 But if one person says no one person, then you don't get that job. Right? And I think that's kinda nuts, right? I think if you have nine people saying yes and one person is saying no, you need to have a discussion, you need to have, you need to be able to say, okay, so why? Why do we all think this person's amazing? And you say no, and that's it. Right? And so I just think we have to take a step back and really have some checks and balances, create inclusive cultures that people are going to be comfortable in and want to gravitate to. And then also put people in leadership that come from diverse backgrounds that are going to think in a different way, which I think is extremely important.
Rianka: 31:46 Cognitive diversity is so important. It is so important and we can't get that unless we have people from racially diverse backgrounds. So one of the questions that I want to ask is, you mentioned about culture and having organizations and companies create a culture that is welcoming. The first question is what does that look like? Like if you've seen any successes, and maybe the answer is I'm still trying to find it.
Everette: 32:12 I feel like I'm creating it within my own companies.
Rianka: 32:15 Alright. So what you doing?
Everette: 32:17 Um, so for me is, is that, you know, when I'm looking for new positions, you know, I, not only am I taking what comes in, you know, people who are applying for this job, you know, me and my team are actively actively looking for diverse candidates. Right? And that's the, that's the difference, right? It's like some people, they have this, this, this idea that, you know, I post it and they will come, right? No, sometimes if you want to find some amazing candidates, the best people are already already in great jobs, you know, and you have to, you know, I'm an aggressive recruiter, but um, you know, sometimes you gotta actually go looking. You can't have this mentality. I think some of these companies have a mentality of like, oh, you know, you know, they'll come to us know sometimes you got to go looking for them.
Everette: 33:19 And so for me, I, I think humility is a, is a big thing. Um, because you know, you can't be in this point where you think that just the people that are coming to you are the best candidates or that you know, everything that's out there, you have to take the time to do your research and things like that. I think too often companies are in the other seat where they're like, you guys got to come to us. So that's just my philosophy on that point. And then interesting with my company, it is very weird. I, besides customer support besides customer support, um, and a few other things, but mostly customer support, no one has like specific hours of work. And the reason that I do this is because I know that everyone is different. Like if I hire somebody who was a mother, they might not be able to work the same schedule as someone else.
Everette: 34:24 You're right. Um, and I want to have my, my biggest philosophy is like, do the work, get the work done. I don't care if it takes you four hours or it takes you 40 hours. I encourage my employees not to work more than 40 hours a week. I think that's nuts, honestly, um, to give to, I know this is gonna sound crazy I think it's nuts to give 40 hours to a business that you don't own more than 40 hours. Right? Like, if you don't have ownership in that company or that's not yours, that's not your dream. Me personally, that's just me and as I'm very understanding and I encouraged people that work for me to work on other things, right? And have different passions and have different hobbies and things like that. Like I don't want that work their life to be revolving around me and my, my dreams and my businesses.
Everette: 35:21 I'm like, Yo, when you're in there, you better get 110 percent, but you know, I encourage people to follow their own dreams and have the different things. And when I interview people I say, you know, what, what do you really want to do? I know you don't want to just be a customer service rep for Pop Social. What is it that you really want to do? And I think when you take time to get to know people and find out their wants and needs you can start to create a personalized experience for them. And that's what it really comes down to is like how do I create the best experience for each and every one, each and every individual that comes to the company. And that's just kinda my focus.
Rianka: 36:03 Yeah, I mean you have the solutions, Everette. I mean that's what it is. Honestly. This is the same conversation that I'm having in the financial planning world. You know, we have a huge shortage of women. Um out of the 80,000 CFP certified financial planners, only 23 percent are women and it, and it's remained that amount for the past 14 years. And they're like, well why can't we attract more women? I'm like, Well have you thought about you don't have a maternity leave policy at your firm. And like you can't, like that's not an environment conducive for a woman. Like taking a step back, looking into the mirror and just like, all right, are some of the policies that we put in place only supporting men or only supporting single people who may not have family. So I think you are doing. That's just, that's awesome. Everette. That is awesome.
Rianka: 36:54 Um one of the other things before I let you go is I want to ask about the diverse hires and especially at these huge tech companies who are hiring specifically women of color. And here's what I'm seeing. I'm seeing a lot of tech companies mess up and then they hire specifically black women to come in and kind of like save the day. And then when they come in they identify the solutions and the problems and they're like, no, no, no, no. And then that woman becomes a problem and then she leaves am, am I like, am I in the tech space? But it's my perception off or like what's happening here?
Everette: 37:38 Um, I can't say that every situation is the same obviously. Right, right, right. But you do see, and I'm trying to be careful because I know these, a lot of these people. And things like that. So I have to tread carefully.
Rianka: 37:52 So, so let's say tech space, let's say financial planning space, like let's say every space
Everette: 37:58 I'm seeing it in a lot of different industries.
Rianka: 38:01 I'm seeing it too. In fashion I'm seeing it
Everette: 38:04 in sports.
Rianka: 38:06 Yes,
Everette: 38:08 I'm seeing it. I'm seeing it everywhere. But what I will say is that black women aren't our saviors. They're not, they're not. We can't look at them as, oh, when sh** hits the fan, can I, am I allowed to curse?
Rianka: 38:27 We can bleep you out, which is, which is funny
Everette: 38:29 Alright, ok, kind of um, when you know, things start to go, wrong,
Rianka: 38:39 I like how you clean that up there
Everette: 38:40 when things start to go wrong, black woman cannot be the savior. Why wasn't a black woman there in the first place? And I think it's extremely disrespectful to take women of color or women in general and hire them to save face. I think it's extremely disrespectful to them. And these are very accomplished, well-equipped women, right? It's not like they're just pulling somebody off the street. These are women that should have been in the space anyways. And then to get them in house and then be upset when they want to see certain changes made or and realize that a lot of times these women are just faces, these people that they bring in to be saviors are just faces and when they really come in there and they want to create real change they are blocked in every direction.
Everette: 39:34 And I think that is, that's awful. I think we have to start challenging ourselves. I know the bag is amazing. Trust me, I know the bag is amazing, but we have to start challenging ourselves not to take some of those opportunities.
Rianka: 39:52 For the listeners who may not understand what a bag is, a bag is colloquial for money bag and lots of lots of it and you typically need to carry it away in a bag, I have a diverse set of audience members or listeners. And they'll message me. And so I knew I was going to get that question. What's a bag or something? Last season we talked about was the cookout like white people get invited to the cookout and how that's like. Yeah. So it's fun stuff up here. All right, Everette, well thank you so much for your time. Before I let you go, as you look back over your life, whether it's personally or professionally, what's that? What's that one thing that you want to leave us with as far as advice?
Everette: 40:50 It's a Tupac quote: All good things come to those who stay true.
Rianka: 40:52 That's a great way to end this conversation. Thank you so much. Everette.
