We would love to hear from you! Text "BBMFAM" to (312) 300-1300.

A catering company can serve amazing food and still lose the room if the operations fall apart. We sit down with Nicole Jordan-Reed, founder of Nicole Jordan Catering in Chicago, to talk about what actually makes events feel seamless: leadership, systems, and the kind of customer service that guests remember long after the last plate is cleared. Nicole brings nearly a decade of catering growth plus a deep corporate background in consulting, HR tech, and product work, and she shows how those skills translate directly into her business.

We get into the real mechanics of corporate event catering and high-touch service: proposals, timelines, staffing, logistics, and why Nicole treats every event like a project with a start, middle, and finish. She then shares a teachable moment from a 7 AM breakfast delivery. If you’ve ever wondered what operational excellence looks like behind the scenes, that moment tells it all.

We also go deep into practical ways to use AI in a food business to improve speed, clarity, and scalability, from SOPs and workflow documentation to recipe scaling and menu development. Finally, we zoom out to the bigger mission: why Black-owned businesses matter, how Black businesses function as local economic engines, and what it takes to build companies that create good jobs, stronger benefits, and more freedom for our communities.

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To connect further with me:
Visit my website: Thel3agency.com
Connect with me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/thel3agency
Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/larvettaspeaks/
Connect with me on Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/thel3agency
Be sure to follow our podcast on Instagram. I can't wait to see you join us and take the pledge of #blackbusinessesmatter

We would love to hear from you! Text "BBMFAM" to (312) 300-1300.

A lot of products claim to be “game changers," but this one is literally patented. We’re sitting down with Cecilia Towns-Scott, a south side Chicago attorney, founder, wife, and mom who spent ten years building Honor, a sustainable period and bladder leak brief designed for how life actually moves. Her innovation is simple to understand and hard to pull off: a reusable product with a removable liner, so you can swap a fresh one fast instead of feeling stuck all day.

We talk about the real mechanics behind product development: trial and error, fabric testing, feedback from friends, funding wins and funding droughts, and the quiet moments when quitting feels logical. Cecilia also breaks down why “Honor Your Flow” is bigger than underwear. Menstrual health is tied to stress, food, movement, and the other 21 days around the actual menstruation, and the brand’s mission is to replace embarrassment with education and confidence.

Then, we zoom out into entrepreneurship strategy. Big box retail sounds like the dream, but retail readiness is a money and logistics game with pallets, shelf space fees, and inventory risks most people never hear about. We unpack why community partnerships, direct-to-consumer sales, and owning your IP first can protect both your margins and your mission. If you’ve been pushed out, laid off, or underestimated, Cecilia’s advice is clear: "get mad, then build."

Support the show

To connect further with me:
Visit my website: Thel3agency.com
Connect with me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/thel3agency
Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/larvettaspeaks/
Connect with me on Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/thel3agency
Be sure to follow our podcast on Instagram. I can't wait to see you join us and take the pledge of #blackbusinessesmatter

We would love to hear from you! Text "BBMFAM" to (312) 300-1300.

The work keeps changing, the tech keeps changing, and the expectations on leaders keep rising, but nobody tells you what to do with the human side of it. I’m joined by Laura E. Knights, LCSW, an executive coach and leadership strategist, to talk about what it really takes to lead and grow as a Black professional and as a Black entrepreneur when AI is moving fast and workplaces can feel intense, messy, and sometimes downright traumatic.

Laura shares how her early entrepreneurship started with tutoring, invoices, and family examples of relationship-driven sales, then expands into what it looks like to take your identity as an entrepreneur seriously. We also get practical about AI in the workplace: how tools like ChatGPT can create efficiency for a small team, and why “use it now” without AI governance, ethical guidance, and legal guardrails puts leaders and employees at risk.

We also go straight to the leadership tension so many Black women leaders face: moving from technical excellence to strategic leadership. We break down why being the one who always executes can block the next promotion, how “pet to threat” shows up through ageism and workplace dynamics, and why boundaries at work are not optional if you want long-term performance and well-being. The bigger takeaway is simple: headwork and heart work have to grow together if you want real influence.

If this conversation hits home, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review so more people find Black Businesses Matter.

Support the show

To connect further with me:
Visit my website: Thel3agency.com
Connect with me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/thel3agency
Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/larvettaspeaks/
Connect with me on Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/thel3agency
Be sure to follow our podcast on Instagram. I can't wait to see you join us and take the pledge of #blackbusinessesmatter