Honey & Hustle Turns 5!

Hey honeys and hustlers,

As we celebrate Women's History Month this March, I'm thrilled to mark another significant milestone: the 5th anniversary of the Honey & Hustle podcast! Since its inception, this platform has been dedicated to amplifying the voices of innovative entrepreneurs, creators, and ambitious nonprofit founders across North Carolina. To commemorate both occasions, I'm sharing our top 10 most-listened-to episodes featuring women who have graced our show with their wisdom, creativity, and entrepreneurial spirit.

These episodes represent more than just download numbers – they highlight transformative conversations that have inspired our community of creators, marketers, and business owners to think bigger and act bolder. From tactical marketing strategies to vulnerable discussions about building sustainable businesses, each featured guest has contributed unique insights that continue to resonate with our audience. Whether you're a seasoned entrepreneur or just starting your creator journey, these conversations offer invaluable lessons in innovation, resilience, and authentic business growth.

1. Margaret Brunson PhD. Margaret is able to articulate her philosophy on business leadership principles better than anyone I know. If you’re looking for insight on how to lead a team, you can find her episode here.

2. Jackie Marin. Jackie successfully grew an e-commerce cotton candy store during the pandemic and transitioned to her first brick-and-mortar storefront in the Triangle. You can find her story here.

3. Courtney Napier. As a writer, I love what Courtney built with the Black Oak Society. In our conversation, she shared a lot about how community is so essential for writers. You can find her story here.

4. Emily Crookston PhD. Ghostwriting isn’t something I talk about as a way to generate revenue as a writer, but Emily fills that gap with this episode. Learn how she works with clients to help them demonstrate their expertise online here.

5. Stacey Ramos. A sweet shop, a market with multiple vendors, and a location in an underdeveloped part of the city. Stacey talks about how she came to have her first brick-and-mortar storefront in East Durham, and how her relationship with the city of Durham and education shaped her journey to entrepreneurship. You can find her episode here.

6. Evingerlean Blakney PhD. I probably had one of my most vulnerable conversations on the show ever with Evingerlean. Our birthdays are like one day apart, and we got along instantly. She’s a first-generation college student, went to an HBCU, and earned her PhD. Is she superwoman?! Not quite, but you can listen to her episode and decide for yourself here.

7. Valonda Calloway. I resisted showing up on camera for as long as I could, but Valonda has an incredible way of encouraging and educating you about your speaker presence. If you want to get better at public speaking, from the stage to your home office, you can check out this episode here.

8. Margo Newkirk and Kiera Gardner. I love that they didn’t wait for permission to build a business that they were passionate about and that their community needed. Margo and Kiera work in the healthcare field, and were able to channel their expertise into a pressed juice e-Commerce brand and food truck. They’re also pretty adept at getting grants as a for-profit business. Learn how they build their consumer product brand here.

9. Kenia Thompson. We met over the pandemic, and I was lucky enough to get her on the show shortly after her book launch. As a career communications professional, she’s made the jump to entrepreneurship look easy. Listen to her episode here.

10. Jennifer Curtis. I didn’t think I could learn so much about the logistics behind creating farm-to-table food ecosystems, but Jennifer taught me a lot. We need more locally grown food options, and agriculture is the oldest industry known to humanity. Can agriculture be a sustainable industry to start a business? Check out our conversation to find out.

In Thursday’s article, I’ll be sharing the 12 things I’ve learned from 120+ interviews on Honey & Hustle. I also have a podcast dropping tomorrow with Matt Gilhooly about my daily podcast challenge. These last 5 years have been incredible, and I’m ready to take Honey & Hustle to new heights. New podcast formats, a slightly bigger team, and more…me! We’re looking for sponsors for our next season, so get in touch if you’d like to explore partnership opportunities!

First Order of Community

We’re back with another live stream! Join us this Thursday on Substack at 3PM. Unfortunately, Substack doesn’t allow you to schedule a live stream so there’s no RSVP link. You can watch from your computer and the app, and the recording will be available once the live stream is over. This week we’re talking newsletters and community (and Corey has hot takes on both). Can’t wait to see you all in the chat!

In Readworthy News

// Patreon releases State of Create 2025 report. According to their survey of 2,000 fans, long-form content is more valuable, and they’d be more interested in paying for long-form over short-form, yet social media platforms prioritize short-form. The top 3 priorities of creators are quality of creative work, building fan relationships, and financial stability. Sounds about right. A stat I found interesting: Creators say their median annual income per fan is 40x bigger on Patreon than TikTok. I would imagine this is true across other direct-to-fan/community platforms (like email) vs. direct-to-algorithm platforms (like Instagram).

// Webflow and Dribbble announce a new partnership. It’s almost like I wrote this into existence. Many web designers likely showcase their work on Dribbble, and now, those who design websites in Webflow can be more easily found through Dribbble’s marketplace. Webflow is made for designers, I found the learning curve to be incredibly too steep (and Framer was hard enough to learn). However, some of the most beautiful websites I’ve ever seen were made on Webflow, so I think it’s really cool that top designers will now have more opportunities for discovery.

// TV writers are making a plan to fight industry downturns. Unfortunately, the stifling of TV writer rooms didn’t stop once SAG and WGA reached an agreement with Hollywood studios. Writer rooms got smaller, season writing sessions got shorter, and the episodes per TV season also saw a massive reduction. Longing for the return of 22 episode seasons? So are writers, and they aren’t waiting around. I love that there seems to be a pivot toward indie filmmaking and away from the greed of Hollywood studio businesses.