PLUS! La La talks the importance of supporting black-owned businesses and brands
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00:00 I'm so excited to be joined by Lala Anthony, just in time for National Black Business Month,
00:05 which runs the whole month of August. I'm going to ask you five questions. For question number
00:08 one, you'll give me one answer. Question number two, you'll give me two answers,
00:11 and so on and so forth. Are you ready to get started? Let's do this.
00:14 You are partnering with Now and Later Candy to spotlight and amplify Black-owned self-care
00:20 brands. What is one of your favorite self-care practices that would surprise us?
00:25 Turning my phone off at night. I'm getting good at it. My son,
00:28 Kyan, is the only one who can get through. Other than that, the phone gets turned off,
00:32 and I'm getting uninterrupted sleep, which for someone like me, is probably the best
00:37 practice of self-care I could ever do for myself. We always think about self-care as a solo act,
00:44 but it really doesn't have to be. So who is that one friend who comes to mind when you
00:48 think about self-care? Kelly Rowland, for sure. She is all about taking care of your skin,
00:53 taking care of your body, all of that stuff. She's just like the guru.
00:58 I do want to mention that Kelly Rowland is actually my screensaver on my phone.
01:01 I am obsessed with her, her skin, her hair, which is absolutely beautiful.
01:05 She can get it all figured out, trust me. I know a lot of people would love to shop
01:10 with more intention, but it's hard to know where to start. So what are two of your favorite ways
01:14 to find a brand to support? Word of mouth and social media. And also,
01:18 again, for me, the most important thing is highlighting the Black-owned self-care brands
01:23 and Black-owned brands period. We put a lot of money into other brands. It's important to invest
01:29 in people that look like us, go through similar things we go through with us, whether it's
01:35 mentally, with our skin, with our bodies, whatever it is. And it's an opportunity for not only me to
01:40 talk about brands that I love, but for each one of us to talk, whether it's on social media,
01:44 amongst friends about Black-owned brands that we use and love, to just continue to support them
01:49 and get the word out there. You're a producer, you're an actress, you're a host, and you also
01:54 created your own incredible hair care brand, Inala. What were three of your biggest challenges
01:59 while creating your own business? I think challenges are starting with
02:03 yourself, the self-doubt. Can I do this? Are people going to care? Are people going to want
02:08 to support? Are people going to want to buy something that I put out? Getting all those
02:12 negative thoughts out of your head and just saying, "I can really do this." Then figuring out,
02:16 what is it about my brand or what I'm putting out there that's going to be different from what's
02:21 already out there? What's going to make people want to grab for my product or whatever my thing
02:25 is that's going to be different from everyone else out there? And then three, the patience.
02:30 Understanding that everything doesn't just drop and the next day it's like, "Oh, I made millions."
02:34 It's a grind, it's a slow grind. And understanding that it takes time for people to hear about it,
02:40 and for it to catch on, and for you to find out who your fan base is and your consumer base and
02:45 what they're looking for. A lot of time, patience, and research has to go into all of that. So you
02:49 just have to be mentally prepared for the journey ahead, but the outcome, when it turns out great,
02:55 is great and it makes it all worth it. Your campaign with Now and Later is all
02:59 about prioritizing self-care now so you can reset and chase your dreams later.
03:04 What are four dreams or goals that you have that you still hope to achieve?
03:07 I would love to continue to become better and grow at everything I'm already doing. I don't
03:12 think in anything I've done, you ever reach your peak. Like, "Okay, I'm done with that." You can
03:18 always be better and grow and become more successful in all of the things that I do.
03:22 So continuing to grow as a mom, as a woman, it's so important. I don't think you ever stop growing
03:28 in those things and paying more attention to my needs and the things that make me happy,
03:33 the things that don't, and leaning more into the things that make me feel good,
03:37 which is, again, another method of self-care. I read in an interview that you really wanted
03:42 to be outside this summer. So what are you doing outside? Anything fun?
03:45 Enjoying myself, having fun, allowing myself to have fun, not feeling bad about it. I was the
03:50 kind of person, get invited places and like, "No, I can't. I gotta work," or, "I have this," or,
03:54 "I have that," and just saying, "You know what? I'm gonna go. I'm not gonna overthink it. I'm
03:57 gonna go. I'm gonna have fun. I'm gonna travel. I'm gonna do things that I don't normally do
04:01 because I was always in the mindset of just work, run. You can't take a day off. You can't do this.
04:05 You can't do that." So really just allowing myself to kind of be more free and have these
04:10 experiences and have fun. And finally, can you give us five words to describe 2023 for
04:16 Lala Anthony so far? A mother, I would put that before anything. I would say passionate,
04:21 empowered, forgiving, and driven. Lala, thank you so much for joining me today. Now, everyone,
04:27 be sure to check out Now and Later on Instagram to see Lala's pics of Black-owned self-care brands
04:32 and more on her routine.
04:34 [BLANK_AUDIO]