Careers: Telisha discusses workforce readiness and navigating today's changing job market.

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2:01including the new iPad Air and the MacBook Pro. Apply for Apple Card today in unlocks the tools for a productive school year. Subject to credit approval. Apple Card is issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Salt Lake City Branch, terms and more at AppleCard.com. This is Jacob Goldstein from What's Your Problem? Running a business is hard enough. Don't make it harder with a dozen apps that don't talk to each other. One for sales, another for inventory, a separate one for accounting, that's software overload. ODO is the all-in-one platform that replaces them all. CRM, accounting, inventory, e-commerce, HR, fully integrated, easy to use, and built to grow with your business. Thousands have already made the switch. Why not you? Try ODO for free at odo.com. That's odo.com. Welcome to my show. I'm Richa McDonnell, the host of Money Making Conversations Masterclass. When we encourage people to stop reading other people's success stories and start planning your own.

3:04Now you don't want to miss an episode, so please take a moment right now to follow or subscribe to Money Making Conversations Masterclass. It's free. You can follow me on iHeartRadio app, Spotify, Apple Podcast, or wherever you listen to your podcast. New Money Making Conversations Masterclass episodes drop daily. I want to keep you on alert because my guests provide tips on how you can uplift your community, improve your financial planning, motivation, or advice on how to be a successful entrepreneur. Now let's get this podcast started. My guest is a proud HBCU graduate of Winston-Salem State University. My dear friend Steven A. Smith graduated from that school as well. She's the founder and president of Creative Intentions. Creative Intentions was built to close that gap across every stage of professional life. From the student who is not yet taken their first step into the workforce, to the leader who has climbed as far as their current tools will take them. She's here for that next step.

4:04Please work with the Money Making Conversations Masterclass Dr. T'Lisha Roberts. How you doing, Dr. Roberts? I am well. How are you? When I read that out loud, I did intern, ships in college. I worked off shores and intern. I did an architectural firm as an intern. And then I got out and it prepared me because I eventually got a job at IBM. It prepared me for that world. Now, how exactly does your company work, Dr. Roberts? We are a strategic partner for individuals and organizations or even colleges and universities. And what we do is we work with individuals to prepare them for whatever that next level is. So starting, we start as early as juniors and seniors in college and university,

5:08helping prepare them for the workplace. We work alongside your career services center, your student success center, and we kind of self-navigate what that looks like when you get that transition, that role. So it's one thing to get a role, to get the internship, get that opportunity, but it's another thing to actually be successful when you get there. So we kind of stand in that gap there to help individuals be successful there. And then when you get into that role that you have worked so hard to get to, we also help stand in that gap with you as you are moving up within an organization. That's feeling that you often reach when you go from individual contributor to manager of people and above. So we help you fill those gaps and get to where you need to be.

6:12And we're also finding that there are some people that are saying, hey, that organization that I thought, I wanted to be a partner, this is not what I actually want. And now I want to go into entrepreneurship, small business ownership. So we even help, we are even helping individuals fill that gap as well because we know that businesses often start at very different places. There are a lot of people who are very skilled and very passionate at what they want to do as far as small business ownership. But being skilled and passionate is very different than running an actual business. And so we also step in to help fill that gap this way all. So basically you better have a plan and a plan exceeds a lot more happiness because if you, because once the happiness leaves where it's to plan, that's what you're saying in the sense. Correct. Absolutely, absolutely. You got to have a plan.

7:13You know, people always say, I've jumped out there on faith. You know, I woke up this morning and I feel blessed. They were okay. Where the hell are that plan in between the blessings? You got to have faith. You keep the faith. Keep the blessings. And a lot of people, a lot of people are being displaced. Right. I was just on LinkedIn today and saw someone who had been displaced and I know this young lady. And I mean, that type of thing, you're not even prepared for. Right. You're not, you're not thinking about, hey, I need to get ready for that next thing, that next level for me, it just happened. And so I reached out to her to connect with her as well. The kind of help her begin to figure out what that next move is going to be for her. Let me ask you this before I get in and ask you to my next corporate question. Give everybody a little background about your corporate world because I think they need to understand you.

8:13You're coming from a source of being there, done that experience. And you're motivated to change people's lives because you want those halls. Absolutely. Absolutely. So I was in the corporate space for over 26 years working in the same organization. And I created a plan. I knew it was time for me to leave, so I created that plan before I actually did so. And it took me about a year to get to where I wanted to be, to make that move. But while I was there back in 2017, there was an effort to expand opportunities for young people to come into the organization from different organizations. There was a young lady who came into the organization and someone introduced me to her and asked me to kind of help her along, help shop with her, help women to her. And I was absolutely open to do that. This young lady did not get a role after this internship.

9:17And she was absolutely devastated. She called me and she was in tears. She said, you know, I'm going back to a small town and there's no opportunities there. This was going to be that opportunity for me. And she was actually in tears and after I hung up the phone with her, I was in tears. And I felt like I could have done more to assist her. And I said, I will never feel this way again. What can I do? So that's when I started creative intentions. I actually didn't have a logo. I didn't have a brand, any brand recognition. I just got started. Started in the local library in Winston-Salem, North Carolina doing personal and professional development training in one of the rooms. There was a free room. They gave me a free room. I bought snacks. My husband went out and pulled people off the street. Hey, you got to come and listen to what my wife is talking about.

10:17And we filled rooms and that showed me that there was a need for what I was doing. And I just kept going and kept going and kept planning and kept ideating and kept planning. And we went on to do some amazing work. We did some work with Visa and their Visa Black Scholar and Jobs program doing professional and personal development training. And we're just doing some amazing things with some amazing young people with some amazing early career professionals. And even those that have been in the corporate space for many years, we're just starting to do a lot with entrepreneurs and small business ownership, economic development. It's been an amazing journey and every day I wake up looking forward to where this path is going to take us next. Stay with us. More money making conversation master class coming up next.

11:19Welcome back to money making conversation master class with me, Rishan Mechtak. If you want to speak to Dr. Roberts 404 8809255 this 404 8809255. Here's a question. Being the hardest work in the room will not get you promoted. Why not? Yeah, that's something that I used to think. You know, I used to think that, you know, you do work hard, put your head down, someone is going to eventually notice all your wonderful works. Well, that does not happen. If you cannot properly articulate your value to an organization and tie the projects and things that you work on to those overall goals and objectives of that organization, then you are going to be quietly lost. And so you have to, it is an absolute must that you know how to articulate that.

12:19That you know how to draw those lines, solid lines as well as dotted lines to your organization's goals and objectives. It's very imperative that you can look outward to understand the changes that are happening in your organization. What your leadership is looking for, what they're looking for and they don't know that they're looking for it. So you have to learn how to do forecasting, but you have to learn how to tell your own story. No one is going to tell your story for you. You know, but you know in that corporate space because everybody wants to get in that corporate space, all wants to be an entrepreneur, all wants to go to college, all wants to get a certificate. There's so many changes for when I went to college. There's no more thing that when I went to college, when I got my job at IBM, I thought I wasn't having it and the guess what I still believe that was one of the best jobs I ever had in my life because it prepared me in so many ways.

13:22And I still use the working capital that they trained me under in my life today. But these are that hard working. I want to stay there for a minute because you know, as a black person, it always says, I got to work twice as hard to get the same benefits or make the same revenue or get the same recognition in the corporate space. You know, when I worked at IBM, I also, I'm a majority white people, so I felt I had to work twice as hard to get there. Was is that a was that a model of of incorrect perception, because I want to stay on that work twice as hard. I think that our statement because I've heard it all my life. Yeah, I think there could be some validity to that or some truthfulness to that. It really depends on where you are. Okay. It depends on the organization that you are in, the industry that you are in.

14:23I think very much so that that is the case probably widely. But I do think that there are some things that you really need to understand about your industry and the changes within that industry. I do think that you really need to understand the organization that you work in. Look at your leadership, not just the current leadership, but leadership over time and see what your organization really values. I believe that every organization has a heartbeat, a nucleus. They have a background. And if you really get to understand your organization, preferably before you get there, you can really understand a little bit about how you're going to have to navigate when you get in. You know, you're doing the thing about it, Dr. Roberts. I look back on my life and I realized that I did work hard.

15:25I did believe that I had to work more and I guess what? And no shame in my game. And I will tell anybody else, the hard work will get you somewhere. A lack of work will get you nowhere. And I think that it's all about competition. And if you're a competitive person, you'll be successful. And how you want to compete will determine how hard you want to work. I like to believe that Michael Jordan, you know, there's a lot of people who can dunk. A lot of people can dribble between their legs. But on his standing, Kobe Bryant was an incredibly hard worker. Michael Jordan was an incredibly hard worker. And so hard work. And I'm not denouncing anything you say and I was just talking in general. Hard work can't be a deciding factor. And there's nothing to do with race. Absolutely. You work hard. Absolutely. There will be some results that will lead to a lot better if you just sort of aren't complaining.

16:25We'll be right back with more Dr. Roberts. She's fantastic. And scaling your life. This is about scaling your life to another level. And she's doing the way creative intentions in North Carolina. Don't go anywhere. Please don't go anywhere. We'll be right back with more money making conversations. Masterclass. Now I need for you to do me a favor. Right now, you'll follow or subscribe to money making conversation. It's free. And you can find it on the iHeartRadio app. Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Please do me that favor. Follow or subscribe. Money making conversations. Chad GPT can do more than answer questions. It can help you get real work done. Chad GPT work is built for bigger projects with multiple steps. You bring the goal along with the information it needs. Like notes, files, customer feedback, calendars, project plans or data. Then, Chad GPT can help turn that into a useful work. A marketing grief, a sales tracker, an investment update, a deck outline,

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20:36Make your home Santa's favorite stop with the holiday decor you want all waiting for you at the Home Depot. This is Jacob Goldstein from What's Your Problem. Running a business is hard enough. Don't make it harder with a dozen apps that don't talk to each other. One for sales, another for inventory, a separate one for accounting, that's software overload. Odo is the all-in-one platform that replaces them all. CRM, accounting, inventory, e-commerce, HR, fully integrated, easy to use, and built to grow with your business. Thousands have already made the switch. Why not you? Try Odo for free at odo.com. That's odo.com. Welcome back to Money Making Conversation, Masterglass hosted by me, Risham McDonald. Let's get back into it. Dr. Roberts, how do we get in touch with you? You can find me at Creative Intentions NC, that's for North Carolina.com.

21:38Now, even though there's an NC there, we also support clients all across the US. And we are actually having conversations right now to move outside of the US. So we are super excited about that. We perform at scales. So, no project is too large or too small for us. We have a great team of folks that are there to give you that personal life service that you need. So reach out to me directly on our website or just shoot me an email at police at creativeintentions NC.com. It was really interesting, Dr. Roberts, whenever I interview you always make me think about my life now and think about my life when I was younger. Because there are so many different ways to be successful. There are so many different ways to work hard.

22:40And there are so many things that you can consider a career. When people come to you and they feel stuck, how do you get them pointing in the right direction? How do you break down what is really stopping them from being successful? Well, one of the first things that we do, first of all, no two people are the same. So we take a very individualized approach when we are working with individuals, when we're working with colleges and universities, as well as when we're working with organizations. No two are the same. So we first take the time to understand who that person and that organization is. We have some assessments and that's where we really start so that we can understand where you are as a leader, what your strengths are, what your preferences are, and really get to know you. Going back to that hard work, one of the things that I want to add is that we understand that hard work is across the board.

23:49What we do is hard work. The work that we do with every individual, with every organization is very hard work. We ask tough questions and we get you to ask those tough questions to yourself. You can't fool yourself. And it doesn't matter. I have some young people that will come and they will say, you're not going to be a content creator. That doesn't mean you're not working hard. That's probably you're going to work harder. There is no easy path to success. Ask anyone that is successful. There is no easy path. You're probably going to work more hard than you ever have before, especially if you're doing something that is in the entrepreneurship space, in the small business space. You're going to work even harder than you would if you're working for someone else. So hard work is going to happen.

24:50But we start with that understanding. One of the things that I talk to particularly with my early career professionals is that understanding that, this is all hard work. You have to understand you have to be ready to do the hard work or we'll wait until you're ready. It was really a, I'm over this smile and when I listen to you talk. Again, you bring up so many memories of myself. And a lot of times I've questioned myself, I look back on my past. I think some people don't look back on their past. They only think about their future and that future can make them nervous or fearful of options. But I always tell people, look back and sometimes you can understand it can help you move forward. Now with that being said, you are talking to people and trying to motivate them to be the best that they can be. What if they don't see the best that they can be, Dr. Roberts?

25:52Sometimes that happens. Right. When you think about, we all come from different places, different spaces, different experiences, different upbringing. And sometimes if you have not been in spaces where that has been a practice, some people have grown up in families where it is a practice to talk about them sales. Or talk about what they're good at and ideate and explore, be creative, those type of things and those type of things really build you as an individual. But not all families work or operate that way. So sometimes you have to just take some time and invest in people and help them see what they have to offer. And we take that time. We are not these, one of these cookie cutter organizations that's doing the same thing for everyone.

26:56We take the time and invest in people because someone took the time to invest in me. And so that is why I am where I am today is because there were people that invested in me. They took the time to sit with me, to encourage me, to mentor me. And we take that time to do the same thing for every single person who is in any of our programs. I'm saying, Dr. Robert, I just love your voice tone. I've jabbed at you a couple of times. You stay here, come back. Don't worry about it, Richard. Life's gonna be good. Well, if I don't believe it myself, don't worry about it. Come on. It could be all right. All of us, all of us go through that at some point in our lives, right? Right. All of us go through this. What you hear from me today was not always this. It has taken me years to get to this place. I don't understand that. I understand it. Everyone can't be like me. It takes some time. It takes some effort. It takes energy.

28:04It takes some falling down. I've got scars as a shot. I don't know. It's a beautiful thing because I think that people need to understand that you have to have a certain tone in all levels of stress, excitement. Like I said, you can't get too high. You can't get too low. And I say that because when people come to you, they know they're getting a polished person who's gonna react in an even-kill manner. Because right now, our college graduate with a brand new degree is entering one of the most hostile entry-level job markets in recent years. Mass layoffs. Every time you turn, AI is going to take your job. And I don't care about your degree. AI is really your degree. And so how do you deal with that level of job, hostility, when they steal in colleges, in college, and when they graduate, and then the ones who in business feel feeling that they're about to get rubbed out because AI is out there and maybe sitting around the corner on somebody's keyboard.

29:09Listen, first of all, it's real. First of all, it's real. It's not just anxiety or anxious or the topic of the day. It is real. There are companies that are taking dollars to the bottom line so they can reinvest into AI. And what that reinvestment looks like for entry-level positions is they're no longer there. And those that may be there are in competition. You have a group of people that have been separated from organizations that they've been in 10, 15, 20 years. So they are also competing for entry-level positions. So this is real. But here's the thing that I think about, we're sure. This is just where we are. We have to learn how to be strategic. We have to learn how to get in front of the problem and be proactive instead of reactive.

30:09One of the things about me is it doesn't matter. I'm even killed just like this, even when times are really, really tough for me. And to be quite honest, when I was in the corporate space, I used to get being for that. I walked out of manager that told me, you know, you really don't move. You know, you're not shaken. You don't have a fit of urgency. Right. And I do have a fit of urgency, but I'm not going to respond to it the way you do. I'm still going to be urgent, but my urgent looks different. I remember I was in the store years ago, myself and my youngest daughter. And there was a message that came over the intercom that said, hey, there's a tornado that just touched down and everybody needed to move to this certain part of the store. My daughter began to panic and I said, hey, listen, we need to calm down. We need to operate with as much information as we can and much peace as we can so that we can be safe.

31:18And we can't do that if we're in a busy. So I very rarely get in a busy about too much of anything. I operate with urgency with that sense of urgency, but I do it differently. I know that's right. As we close out, let's run more time tell everybody how you can touch with you, Dr. Roberts. Yes, please reach out to me if you are in that gap, if you are a early career professional, if you are a junior senior in college and university, if you are that person looking to move to your next level, if you are that organization that are looking to be safe. And to invest in your most valuable asset, your people reach out to me at creative intentions and see dot com or Talicia T L I S H A I knew that's right. And I'm about to get off the couch because she has got me at the right time. I'm not too high. I'm not too low. You're fantastic, Dr. Roberts. That's always thank you for coming into my world.

32:31I'm about to put your thoughts on my third interview with you in about 30 days because your voice needs to be heard. And if any way I can keep putting it out there so more people can hear it and pursue the opportunity that you are making available globally. And as well as in North Carolina, specifically where you started in library, but more importantly, keep winning my friend and we'll talk soon. OK. Thank you so much for having me. Thank you for listening to this episode. Now I need for you to do me a favor. Right now to follow or subscribe to money making conversation is free. And you can find it on the I heart radio app Spotify Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast. Please do me that favor. Follow or subscribe. Money making conversations. Chat GPT can do more than answer questions. It can help you get real work done with chat GPT work. You bring the goal and the details like notes, files, feedback, calendars, project plans or data.

33:31Data can help create things like a brief tracker analysis deck outline or workflow. You stay in control by giving direction, reviewing the work and choosing the final result. Put chat GPT to work on your most ambitious ideas and projects. Get started at chat GPT dot com by selecting work mode available on plus and pro plans. This message is brought to you by Apple card. It's a new school year, which means yet another back to school shopping list. Luckily, when you use Apple card, you can earn 3% daily cash back on everything at Apple, including the new iPad Air and the MacBook Pro. Apply for Apple card today and unlock the tools for a productive school year subject to credit approval Apple card is issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA Salt Lake City branch terms and more at Apple card dot com. This is Jacob Goldstein from what's your problem. Running a business is hard enough. Don't make it harder with a dozen apps that don't talk to each other. One for sales, another for inventory, a separate one for accounting. That's software overload.

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