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Entrepreneur Nana Agyemang got her start in the world of fashion journalism. From sending cold emails to editors she admired to running social media for The Cut, she worked her way up to building a social media empire of her ownEveryStylishGirland interviewing thought leaders and celebrities for national publications.

It was during one of these interviews that Nana received a crucial piece of advice from actress Gabrielle Union: Dont wait for someone to invite you to a seat at their table. Create your own.

Ever since, Nana has been doing just that: In 2020, during the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement, she expanded her brand into a platform for Black and brown women who want to change the world of business. A home for aspiring entrepreneurs and creatives, EveryStylishGirls mission is to hold employers accountable for their commitments to diversity and to empower Black womenwho faced disproportionate job losses during the pandemicwith the tools they need to thrive in the media industry.

Between growing her company, hosting Yelps 2022 Black in Business Summit, and organizing her first international Sip n Slay event in Accra, Ghana this December, Nana has a lot on her plate. Heres how she makes the most of each day as a founder, CEO, and multimedia journalist.

The first thing I do in the morning is pray. It sets me up for the day, it keeps me grounded, and its a form of meditation for me. I like to focus my prayer on whats coming ahead in terms of that day, so Im manifesting a successful day for myself, manifesting the partnership Im pitching, manifesting successful growth for my company. Im manifesting everything that I need to do that day in that prayer.

I think so many of us are so quick to right away grab our phone, but I sit with my thoughts in the morning before I grab my phoneeven if its just for two minutes. Two to three minutes of discipline in the morning will take you so much further than grabbing your phone right away.

We have two company accounts, EveryStylishGirl Biz and EveryStylishGirl, and we have social media managers for both of those accounts. So Im checking in with them daily to say, Hey, are we good to go? Did we have any more timely content that needs to go up?

For example, this past weekend was such a phenomena at the Emmys because we had so many Black women winningit was back to back to back, [Sheryl Lee Ralph, Quinta Brunson, Lizzo, and Zendaya] finally getting the flowers that they deserve. Lets say we had a social media post that was set to go live, an inspirational quote or some type of career learning. Were gonna pause that, and were gonna push the timelier content. Thats why its always really important to check in during the day and figure out: What are our goals for today? What is the focus?

My DMs are always open. I kid you not, people are closing business deals in their DMs.

For my personal Instagram, I [check it for] maybe 10 minutes in the morning, and then I go on it [for two hours] throughout the day. I try to respond to DMs, whether its questions about my career or questions about something I wore. Im giving insights on my Instagram constantly. Im always trying to be a vessel for resources, support, or whatever it is. My DMs are always open. I kid you not, people are closing business deals in their DMs.

I box myself into three categories: lifestyle and fashion, media and business, and then social media strategy. Before I post any piece of content, I ask myself: Is it hitting any of these three buckets? If its not, Im not gonna work with you.

I recommend people create a niche for themselves and ask yourself if [an opportunity] meets any of your niche requirements. If it doesnt, maybe its not best to work with that company. Most of the time, youll see me doing panel engagements, hosting events, doing lifestyle and fashion content creation, or talking social media strategy. Thats whats so close and dear to my heart.

I like to build in regular pauses throughout my day. I will go hard for maybe one to two hourswhether its sending emails, pitching, creating content, reviewing business dealsI will do that for straight one to two hours, but then I need to close my laptop. I need to walk away. I go for a walk, I grab some yogurt and granola, I make a good lunch, I listen to a podcast that I know can build that momentum for me. Doing that really keeps me motivated to keep working harder.

And for self care, I love a good spa day, honestly. It doesnt have to be a full-on spa. You could just get a pedicure with a five-minute massage in it. I try to get that biweekly, and those small things mean so much to me. It takes me out of my work mindset. Im trying hard not to think about work, emails, and deadlines. Self-care to me is being in the moment, not touching your phoneI really try not to take my phone to the nail salon and just enjoy that experience because I dont get a lot of time to myself throughout my day.

So many women, specifically women of color, push themselves to become CEOs and work for Fortune 500 companies and [make their] goals and hit the salary. And its so exhausting. I think since COVID, a lot of people are taking time to self-reflect and realize that mental health is much more important than getting to the bag, you know? Id rather have a happy home, happy life, than be a top CEO at any company anymore. If it takes me having to sacrifice my mental health, I dont want it.

We are no longer sacrificing our mental health for corporations. We are in the time of putting ourselves first.

Im a huge advocate for doing whats best for your mental health. When you need to walk away from a job that is straining you, that is stressful, that is belittling you, that is keeping you up 24 hours of the dayyou need to walk away. We are no longer killing ourselves for corporations. We are no longer sacrificing our mental health for corporations. We are in the time of putting ourselves first. That is so important to me right now, and its important to my community [on EveryStylishGirl]. Whether it be with Gen Z Black women or millennial Black women, we are seeing that message across the board: Mental health first, my happiness first, and then your corporation.

[For networking,] you would think my immediate way to connect is Instagram, but its actually LinkedIn. Back when I was in grad school [at Columbia University School of Journalism] and really trying to transition from working in hard news to working in fashion media, I told myself that my goal was to try to have one coffee a week with someone doing a job that I aspire to be in. I sent a lot of cold emails and LinkedIn messages. A lot of like: Hey, so nice to meet you. Heres a little bit about me. I would love for us to stay in touch. Can we grab some coffee? I feel like its really hard to deny it when someone offers you coffee. Its a small gesturea little way to sweeten the deal.

Youre gonna get a lot of nos in your lifetime, but youll be surprisedthose same nos will turn around a few years later and say, Yes, hey, I remember you. I cannot emphasize enough: Relationships are the most important thing to business growth. Its barely qualifications, to be honest with you. Its that manager who remembers you from a great conversation at a coffee shop. So make sure you talk to as many people as you can and put yourself out there and build those relationships.

And then also dont be afraid to connect with your own peers. Its called horizontal networking. I wish I wouldve known that earlier. I think people are so focused on vertical networking, but its really the people around you that could one day help you propel in your career.

Theres one thing I do that gives me such a big sigh of relief: Its just crossing off my to-do list at the end of day. Oh my gosh. It is like getting a hundred dollars. Every time I cross it out, Im like, Im so proud of myself, like this is such a big achievement. Im not kiddingit could be as little as opening all my PR gifts for the week. But being able to cross that off gives me a huge sigh of relief. Its fulfillment. Its just such a good feeling.

Watch below for more of Nanas journey:

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A day in the life with media entrepreneur Nana Agyemang - Yelp Blog

Outdoorsy Black Women, a social network for Black women who enjoy nature and the outdoors, has inked a brand partnership with outdoor retail giant REI.

The group has signed on to join REIs Inclusion Partnerships Network. Through the network, the retailer builds partnerships with organizations and leaders working to create a more diverse community for outdoor leisure and adventure. Organizations in the network include Black Girls RUN!, LatinXHikers, and The Venture Out Project. REI and the nonprofit organization Outdoor Afro have also collaborated on a line of hiking gear which debuted earlier this month.

Through the brand partnership, Outdoorsy Black Women and REI will share and promote content, such as photos and videos, on social media. Outdoorsy Black Women has also agreed to promote REI through its app, and REI will supply merchandise and staff for the organizations events, as well as provide funds for travel.

Valese Jones, a Birmingham native and University of Alabama alum who manages publicity and branding for Outdoorsy Black Women, says the network created the terms of the partnership contract.

The only thing (REI) did was say These are the things we want from you. But, in terms of what we were going to offer them, we pretty much came up with the things that we were going to include them in, said Jones. So they are covering things for us like travel expenses, money for us to do content creation, giveaways and gear.

Jones has worked with Toyin Ajayi, the founder of Outdoorsy Black Women, since 2019.

In June 2020, Ajayi, who is based in Georgia, started her transition to nomadic life, opting to give up her permanent residence to live out of an RV and travel full-time.

So as I decided to do that, I recognized that I kind of wanted to commune and find other like-minded Black women, said Ajayi.

Ajayi and Jones worked together to launch Black Women Camp, a group inspired by Ajayis desire to connect with Black women who enjoy camping as well as RV, van, and nomadic life. The network, which launched that summer, was primarily based in a Facebook group.

Ajayi didnt develop the group solely for social networking. She also created the group to help other Black female campers feel safe.

During that time, it was right before the election. More and more Black campers and more and more Black van lifers were feeling unsafe going to different campgrounds, said Ajayi.

There were stories of Black campers being harassed at different campgrounds. So a lot of us started turning to social media and asking Where is it safe to go camping? Where is it safe to go spend time outdoors? And what I noticed was, as Black women were asking these questions in groups, people were gaslighting us. People were saying Its nothing different than what it is to be a woman outdoors or Why does it have to be about race?

Ajayi recognized the need for Black women to have their own private spaces to talk about concerns they had when traveling outdoors.

I recognized it was more than just Black women that were camping who needed a safe space, said Ajayi.

Thats where Outdoorsy Black Women came into the picture.

In November 2020, Ajayi and Jones folded Black Women Camp into the wider umbrella of Outdoorsy Black Women a network for Black cisgender women, transgender women, and non-binary people to connect through outdoor activities such as hiking, beekeeping, gardening, and hunting.

Instead of Facebook, members of Outdoorsy Black Women communicate primarily through the dashboard on the networks website, as well as the free app. Joining the Outdoorsy Black Women is free, and members have access to shop for merchandise, as well as the networks book club. Members can also participate in discussion forums, take quizzes, and plan events, such as group hikes. The Outdoorsy Black Women blog has articles with advice about nature and outdoor activities, including preparing for van life, fishing, and Black-owned farms.

Outdoorsy Black Women has chapters in more than 10 states, including Alabama. Each chapter is led by an ambassador.

Lakeitha Clark, the ambassador for the Alabama Chapter of Outdoorsy Black Women (left) and Toyin Ajayi (right) hold up a banner before a hike up Red Mountain Park in Birmingham. (Shauna Stuart| AL.com)

Last November, after months of conversations, Ajayi and Jones started working with REI on event partnerships with Outdoorsy Black Women the retailer supplied the group with either money or equipment for events such as demonstrations or nature walks.

This year, REI sponsored Outdoorsy Black Womens biggest event to date: the inaugural Wine and Waterfalls, an all inclusive outdoor retreat with options for traditional tent camping or the more luxurious glamping. For three days and two nights, attendees dined, hiked, and attended bonding sessions such as yoga classes and movie nights.

As part of the sponsorship, staff from REI were also on hand to teach two sessions: one about how to pitch a tent and another about how to safely start a fire.

A lot of the women we attract are first time campers for wine and waterfalls. So its important to have knowledgeable people out there with us, said Jones.

Jones says REI has signed on to sponsor Wine and Waterfalls again next year. The new diversity partnership means REI will also provide ongoing support for events such as hikes, happy hours, and classes, as well as the Outdoorsy Black Women app.

The brand deal, says Jones, is an elevation from their previous partnership, which was mostly centered on activities.

They decided to take us to the corporate level, said Jones. So, its just an overall partnership that has the potential to grow throughout the years.

Hikers walk Red Mountain Park in Birmingham with the Alabama Chapter of Outdoorsy Black Women (Shauna Stuart|Al.com)

Over the years, REI has been open about its intentions to create a more inclusive environment in the outdoor leisure and retail industry. In 2018, the company released a detailed description about its initiatives, including a new role that would consult across the retailers divisions on topics of diversity, equity and inclusion. In 2020, amid the nation-wide protests for social justice, REI released a statement committing to the fight for social equity. A year later, the company reasserted its commitment to racial equity by pledging to become a fully inclusive, anti-racist, multicultural organization.

Jones says, so far, REI has followed through on its promises to help create a more inclusive outdoor industry.

They were doing this before it was the thing to do. They have diversity partners that theyve been with for years. So, it wasnt like they just started their diversity initiatives.

I love working with them because they are real allies. Theyre not those allies that dont listen to you and dont hear you. We can talk to them about real things, like why we dont share the location of our hikes publicly, said Jones. We dont share them until a few days before (the hikes) because some people will feel a type of way because its just a group of Black women. And that could put us in harms way.

With the new partnership, Jones is looking forward to continuing to expand Outdoorsy Black Women to more cities. The network has added eight more chapters since July, including two chapters in New York one in upstate and one in New York City. Last month, the chapter hosted a hike in Central Park. Outdoorsy Black Women has also added chapters in Greensboro, N.C., Phoenix. Los Angeles, Chicago, Colorado, and Jacksonville, Fla.

Wine and Waterfalls, Outdoorsy Black Womens crown jewel event, will return next May for its second year. Tickets go on sale in October.

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Southern-based outdoor network for Black women signs brand deal with REI - AL.com

The gods of career timing had not been kind to Sienzhi Kouemo 20 before he met fellow Babson College alumnus Kevin Bryant 82, CEO and co-founder of social media company Educated Change.

Kouemo graduated in the early turbulence of the pandemic, when uncertainty was high and layoffs and hiring freezes were even higher. Kouemo had considered graduate school, but the program he was contemplating required a job.

So, it seems fitting that Kouemo was behind the wheel when a highly anticipated call from Bryant lit up his cell phone.

I pulled over to the side of the road and took the call, said Kouemo, now the digital brand associate at Educated Change. After a brief chat on the side of the road, he and Bryant agreed to reconnect a few hours later.

I got home and I looked up everything I could about Educated Change, and by the time he called back, I was well prepared. ET&A at its best, I guess said Kouemo, referring to Babsons famous Entrepreneurial Thought & Action (ET&A) methodology.

Once Bryant and Kouemo connected, they spoke for more than an hour and a half about Kouemos life, interests, and talents.

He had this amazing energy, and you could see that he had a lot going for him, said Bryant, whose 40th graduation anniversary is this year. The two-time NCAA mens soccer champion (1979 and 1980) said he recently got back in touch with some teammates, and hes always made an effort to reach out to Babson students of all ages.

I dont just connect with the high fliers, I like to connect with people who are students because you never know, Bryant said. Kouemo has this very diverse background, and he just has this great soul.

Bryants commitment to connections of all kinds is a philosophy thats also prominent at his London-based company, Educated Change. The company teaches and advises businesses and institutions how to use social media to connect with the people who matter in their work life, growing not just their customer base but potential new team members.

Bryant already had a stellar career in bankingserving as a regional president of BankBoston and then as general manager of Fleet Bank in Europewhen his friend, Peter Klein, contacted him in 2010. Social media, argued Klein, also CEO and founder of Educated Change, would eventually be a necessity for businesses.

I wasnt convinced at the time, Bryant said. But he found the concept interesting, and soon he decided to join Peter.

We started by doing a lot of advisory work and a lot of training work, providing education about social media. Slowly but surely, businesses hired us to come in and do hourlong talks to their board or partners, Bryant said.

Eventually they asked us to be their arms and legs, so now the majority of our work is in providing a managed service so that senior executive leaders dont have to waste time looking for content and engagement opportunities. We do that and more, aided by some nifty proprietary software that allows us to listen to thousands of conversations generated by the people that matter. My partner and I both enjoy teaching and change, hence the name of the company, he said.

His education at Babson was a key part of Bryants success in several careers, including opening two tai chi clubs in England.

Babsons education was a wonderful foundation for all of the work Im doing, he said. From the other students, to the professors, and obviously the coursework, its the combination that makes us well-rounded human beings. I think thats so important, so critical.

Kouemo said hes relying on much of his Babson education at Bryants company, but hes also eager to absorb everything he can in his first job out of college.

Its been a learning experience, because the way the company is built is just so innovative, he said. I get to work with clients in all sorts of industries and different sectors, and because of my working background from Babson, I literally used what I learned and applied it to real concepts within this company.

Part of Kouemos job is working with C-Suite-level executives to increase their social media presence, and helping to bulk up their posts.

I get to work with clients in all sorts of industries and different sectors, and because of my working background from Babson, I literally used what I learned and applied it to real concepts within this company.

Seinzhi Kouemo '20, digital brand associate at Educated Change

Kouemo would encourage students to keep their eyes peeled for fellow Babson alumni on LinkedIn and at any events.

I never would have thought that I would be working for a global company based out of London for my first job, Kouemo said. It started with a LinkedIn connection, and it led me to a whole new level that I could never have imagined.

Bryant said the connections usually bring benefits for everyone involved, especially if those connections are from Babson.

We feel were quite lucky to have him with us, because hes definitely going places, Bryant said. As you get older, you become more reflective, and you think a lot about how you got here. I look at some of my old soccer mates and other graduates, and I just marvel at how successful the student body is.

Posted in Campus & Community

Tagged Career, Alumni, Babson College's Class of 2020, Mentoring & Networking, Corporate Innovation, Diversity and Inclusion, Entrepreneurship, Global

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How Remote Networking Connected Two Babson College Alumni - Babson Thought & Action

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney gave some of his final comments as the province's leader Saturday, speaking at an event attended by the candidates running to replace him.

At a Canada Strong and Freeconferencein Red Deer, Alta., Kenney said he was proud of much of the legislation passed during his time as premier, but said he would have gone farther on healthcare reform, had the pandemic not quelled those efforts.

However, the province is moving forward with its chartered surgical initiative, which will contract surgeries out to the private sector, and will be publicly funded.

"We could have gone further and deeper into health reform had it not been for COVID. And I think Canadians are now waking up to the reality that we do need fundamental health reform," Kenney said.

He also said if he would have run for re-election he wouldn't have stayed for long.

"I never intended to be here for a long time. Frankly it was always my intention if I'd gone on to the next election to leave, probably about a year to 18 months after that," he said.

"I was never intendingto be in this gig for a long time."

Reflecting on the state of conservatism, Kenney said there is growing anger among the alt-right fuelled by social media conspiracy theoriesand "hypercharged" by the pandemic.

"Social media comes along 20 years ago and allows people with those kinds of attitudes to self-publish and then to find a virtual community online, and then to push each other into a constant state of anger," Kenney said.

He said that "liberal mainstream legacy media almost went out of their way to become disaffected from almost everybody right of centre."

That resulted in the advent of alt-right media to fill the market, he said.

"And for many of them, their business model is the monetization of anger. And the revenue only flows if people are angrier and angrier."

"I know this is an old fashioned sentiment, but I actually believe civility is a conservative value. And there is a growing sense of profound incivility. And it concerns me greatly," Kenney said.

He added that he fears conservatism could "become a caricature of a kind of nasty, angry populism that will lose consistently at the polls as well."

In May, Kenney announced his resignation as UCP leader after receiving 51.4 per cent approval of his leadership from UCP members.

Leela Aheer, Danielle Smith, Todd Loewen, Rebecca Schulz and Brian Jean, Rajan Sawhney and Travis Toews are all vying to be the next leader of the party.

Some attendees showed up to hear from the contenders, and where they stood on the issues.

Rahim Mohamed, a Calgary student, said his vote is still undecided, and he wants to pick the person who has the best chance of winning the next provincial election.

He also wants to vote for someone who will focus on the economy.

"Finding a way to think longer term plan for sort of a long term utilization of the incoming oil revenue and who has the best long term vision for growing and hopefully diversifying Alberta's economy," he said.

Gail Parks, a Red Deer resident, said she wants to see a change in the province's healthcare system.

"We've spent a tremendous amount of money on a system that is not working. For anyone to have to wait months and months and months for an MRI," she said.

"I'm a cancer survivor. If I hadn't been able to get early treatment, I probably wouldn't have survived."

Tunde Obasan, from Edmonton, said he's looking for a candidate who will focus on jobs and the economy.

"[Someone to make sure] Alberta is an environment where employers, job creators can find us a good environment to tstart a business or to move their businesses to, you know, and that will create more jobs and boost the economy in the long run."

The UCP will choose its new leader Oct. 6.

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Jason Kenney says he never intended to 'be in this gig for a long time' - CBC.ca

After reports circulated on social media of children getting kidnapped from various parts of the metropolis, the Mumbai police on Monday, September 19, clarified stating that those were fake news.

The city police also urged people to not believe rumours that are spread on social networking sites regarding child abduction messages.

Police also stressed that members of public school teachers, principals and parents should not believe in such rumours as Mumbai is safe and no such incidents of kidnapping have taken place in anywhere in the city.

For those unversed, since the past week, people, essentially parents, have been receiving messages including letters and voice notes on their social media applications like WhatsApp and Facebook which says that children in several areas in Mumbai are being kidnapped from school and residential building premises by random men.

Police said rumours have been spread through social media that kids have been kidnapped in Kurla, Ghatkopar, Vikhroli, Kanjurmarg, Ghatkopar, Andheri, Jogeshwari and Pant Nagar.

According to the police, they have visited and checked all the details and locations mentioned in the messages that are going viral on social media.

Subsequently, the police have even checked closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera footage in all these places but they have not found anything that's being mentioned in the fake chain of messages.

The cyber wing of the Mumbai police has already started a probe to find the origin of the message and they are hopeful that the culprit will be nabbed soon.

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Don't fall prey to fake child abducting messages on social media: Mumbai Police - Mumbai Live