Monica Sekhmet Grant has made a career of empowering Black and Brown communities through life coaching and community organizing. “One builds personal power while the other builds collective power. Each one is vital and should not be isolated.” Monica is an advocate for economic justice and fairness, for all communities especially her own. She believes that most men and women of African descent naturally desire to live in safe prosperous communities that support economic growth. Monica launched Young Boss Media. An idea to interview entrepreneurs from underrepresented communities quickly expanded into a television network consisting of young Black producers and hosts that never believed they would one day be on TV. Her new book, Mind Your Business and Prosper: A Young Entrepreneur’s Guide to Being Successful will launch globally on August 17, 2020.
FWM: You have been a force behind employing, building organizations and producing your own products since your college days. Tell us about your background.
I am a spiritual being put here to do God’s work. I’ve never been the person to wait for people to produce the life that I want, I always took pride in building things for myself, with my own efforts. I moved around a lot as a child. From Michigan to South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, and more. As a kid, I was able to see a lot of different communities and collect a lot of data in a short amount of time. As I processed this information, I recognized that some people were poor, and some were rich, and I wanted to be rich. I also recognized that many of the people around me were poor and I wasn’t sure why. I was fascinated with wealth. I also never felt that I belonged anywhere. I was very nomadic and didn’t know how to respond when asked “where are you from?” That has its downsides, but the upside was I didn’t have to be emotionally attached to any hardship or struggles of a community. If I didn’t like a situation, I could just get up and leave. I could reinvent myself and explore my own interests. You can’t do this forever, but it was an upside. My confidence and independence put me in situations of leadership coming up. I wouldn’t back down from challenges or school fights. I was always ready. Older people would mentor me because they knew that I would listen and implement their suggestions. I had enough street knowledge to know that I could not listen to everyone but the people I respected gave me jewels that I still live by. Being a boss is a hood aspiration. No one wants to work for someone else. No one wants to feel like a slave to bills, corporations, or the government. I listened to the hustlers in my neighborhood and saw how to build an organization, create loyalty within your team, produce your own clothing line, or mixtape and sell them out of your trunk. This was normal. What made me different is that I was a young girl studying the business model of street hustlers and rappers. All I did was make the hustle legit. I was heavily influenced by rapper Master P growing up because he owned everything he put his name on. No matter if the product was good or bad, it was his. My business swag still reflects that street hustler, rapper vibe with a business degree, a pretty smile, and a sharp business mind.
FWM: As a Young Boss, what are your goals in 2020?
For me personally the goal is to thrive. I know that we are currently in a global crisis, but I have always been a person that focused on the opportunities in life. I refuse to live in a space of fear, and I refuse to be around people that are afraid to live their life fully. These are very scary times for people and that energy can be contagious, like a virus, so my goal is honestly to stay healthy, physically, mentally and spiritually, so that I can see all of the opportunities in front of me.
I want to separate my media company from other brands by continuing to push for more original content on our platform. I will not let up on the gas. We are a global brand and will soon be recognized as such. On August 17th, I’m releasing my 4th book Mind Your Business and Prosper. I look forward to speaking to more people about Young Boss Media and our goal to uplift communities of color using media. The more opportunities I can speak the better. I have a list of goals that I am actively executing but they all are rooted in advocating for my company, my producers and hosts, my community and family, and my future generations. All roads lead to Young Boss Media.
FWM: Tell us about Young Boss Media. Why is it the most important project in your life?
Young Boss Media saved my life. I was in a very low place. A spiritual transition that I was fighting. My heart told me that it was time to leave the social justice movement as an organizer and start my own business. But by the time I was 27/28 I was well paid and comfortable. A month after I turned thirty, I found myself injured and unable to work comfortably. Everything had shifted and the money didn’t matter. I decided to take time for myself and the constant nag of producing a talk show for Entrepreneurs of color kept bugging. The truth is I was scared. For many reasons, I was 250lbs at the time, ( People like me are not in front of the camera), I didn’t think that people actually wanted to listen to me speak and I knew that starting a new project alone is draining. But the thought kept nagging me. On March 22, 2017, I taped the first episode of my talk show Master Plan and my entire life changed. I recognize know that my low place was caused by me being out of alignment with who I am and what I am supposed to do on this Earth. From day one of Young Boss Media, doors started opening for me that I could have never imagined prior. My faith and devotion to my spiritual path have only grown deeper. I’ve stopped drinking, went vegan, work out daily, and have lost a lot of weight. I’m happy now because I’m in alignment with my purpose. And it’s all because of Young Boss Media.
FWM: Share a few stories of how Young Boss Media has helped to empower young people. What will people notice first about working with you?
The first thing I tell me students is that I’m not here to teach you how to get a job and I don’t care about your resume. I’m here to teach you to develop your gifts and talents into payable skills that you can sell immediately when you leave me…. I’m not sure who else is doing this but it definitely shocks the students. I was sold the dream of having a job for 30 years, my goal is to save them a decade or 2 and let them know now if you want to make money you need to be able to sell yourself. Then I find out what the student wants to focus on learning. Some like graphic design, web design, and social media, others like photography, podcasting, and researching. I then give them real projects to work on with real deadlines and real consequences. I don’t baby my students. They actually know way more than I do about the digital world so I treat them as equal partners. Every project that they work on goes into their portfolio and I teach them how to present themselves on the market. How much things costs, how much you can charge, and how to negotiate? My goal is to create a fierce group of Young Bosses that are not waiting for a job to open up but are instead creating the job opportunities.
FWM: What are you most proud of?
Being born. I don’t take it for granted. I believe that we choose our experience before we are born. I made it here safely and I’m able to work my plan. I can tell you a lot of cool things that would impress other people, but nothing impresses me more than life and living fully. I’m happy to still be here.
FWM: Tell us about your new book, Mind Your Business and Prosper: A Young Entrepreneur’s Guide to Being Successful.
Mind Your Business and Prosper is the Think and Grow Rich for my generation. As the mentor to the reader, I offer stories from my personal life where I had to learn some really hard lessons. Lessons that were completely avoidable but like many I didn’t have a bunch of business mentors in my life, walking with me every step of the way, and the ones that did mentor me were only a few years older, so we were basically growing up together. I want the next generation to see my mistakes, my flaws, and learn from them while seeing how I now handle situations based on the experiences that I write about.
There’s a part that coaches the reader how to look in the mirror and practice asking someone for $100,000, so when people ask you how they can support your efforts, you look them dead in the eye and say “ Thanks for asking I’m raising $100,000 can you help me out today” They might not have the money but Imagine if you just keep asking those hard awkward questions like this what could happen. You are then the Young Boss that has your future in your own hands. I want confident leaders in my next generation, no punks. Ask for the money, for the date, for the upgrade. Where I’m from we say “closed mouths don’t get fed”, I want my students able to speak up and proudly declare what they want out of life.
Mind Your Business and Prosper is available for global release on August 17th, 2020 on Amazon and you can preorder it at YoungBossMedia.com
FWM: Share your upcoming projects.
Young Boss Humanitarian Awards Show August 4th
Mind Your Business and Prosper book release August 17
Mind your Business and Prosper Conference September 19th
And we have original content on Young Boss Media Facebook and YouTube every day, so stop by and see us.
