Almost exactly a year ago to the day was when we had a "soft launch" to MarriageFamilyBusiness. All we did was wear t-shirts I had designed and decided to wear on my birthday of August 5, 2018. A year later, MFB is, well, what MFB is: an affirmation for entrepreneurial married couples who are working together and raising a family. We understand that this is a trend and we know that some people do it for a long time. We want to make sure that we encourage it, but also educate about it so that people can do it successfully.

To celebrate our 20th anniversary this December, we have a book coming out: MarriageFamilyBusiness: How to Work with Your Spouse and Win. And yes, we are winning. We are winning because, after almost 20 years of being together, we like each other more than we did 20 years ago. We're winning because we have healthy children, healthy children who we support, who love each other, who are affectionate with each other, and although they're far from perfect, we believe...

No business talk today. Just warrior woman stuff. I’m feeling good about this heat wave -- I know I may be alone -- but this is better than February.  I want you to feel good too, and see possibilities as wife, mom and budding or growing business owner. It’s important to savor your greatness. 

Fact: no one has it all together 365 days a year. As we are more than halfway through 2019, we all have asked ourselves at some point since January: “when am I great?” I know it’s in me even when I’m exhausted from 'wifeing', mothering and working, but thankfully I also know the exact time that I’m gonna shine every calendar year. Late July and all of August.

Finding your season means understanding when you're at your strongest. For me, it's definitely my birthday season. I'm a Leo and when summertime carry and Leo season hit, I feel unstoppable. It's important for me that in Leo season I act like the Lion King. (Haven’t seen the new...

“Marketing over mastery.” I heard this term YEARS ago and I didn’t like it. It sounded like an encouragement for people to promote promises they couldn’t keep. I used to be a believer that you had to know everything before you could put yourself out there to the world. Mastery implies excellence and until you’re excellent you shouldn’t market, right?

Wrong. 

We get better with experience. We master what we do by making mistakes, then making the necessary adjustments. Yes, if we market before we master, we do allow for the possibility for the world to see us fumble. Ok. We watch people and companies fumble all the time and we still believe that they’re gonna dust themselves off and get back to doing what they should be doing. 

So why not us? Why not you?

If you want to be in business, you must believe that you have a product or a service that people want. If they want it, it’s your job to get it to them. You must find them,...

A few weeks ago, I was spotlighted by DearDopeChick.com as their feature for the week. I am still in awe. It was truly an honor. I just submitted my name on a whim, with the hope of being selected. But, as we all do, we never really think of ourselves as dope until someone else tells us. I know I'm good at certain things and not so good at others. So, the validation from somebody else felt good. Being featured on DearDopeChick must mean that I'm doing something right – particularly in business.

When you're in business, the goal is to make money. And, yes, we are making money in our business right now. In the past three months, we've made almost half of what we did in the entirety 2018. So, with six months to go, it will be great to accelerate to a new level as we release new products and services at Strategic Admissions Advice and our other businesses. I don't say all this to brag. If you know me, you know that's not my style. But now I have this itch to really...

A little secret here: I'm a baseball mom. Okay, maybe that's not a secret because those of you who know me know that. Not only do I love baseball, but my sons happen to be pretty darn good players, too. We've spent the last 10 to 11 years chasing him around the country as he pursues his dream. I'm a big believer in chasing your dream. (I even love Meek Mills’ Dreamchaser series, but that's a whole other topic.) Today, I'm going to talk about running through the bag.

Running through the bag is what I often tell my son he must do when he runs down to first base. It means finishing what he started. If you're going to hit a ground ball, I don't care if it's back to the pitcher or to a shot into left field. He better run through the bag as hard as he can and then make the decision on what to do next. Don't get up to the plate, hit the ball and then jog like you don't really want to be there. You go hard or you go home. Run through the bag and finish what you started. We use this...

this week's dope chick
#deardopechick:
meet Keri Herndon-Brown

what makes you dope:

i'm a 43 year old woman who survived being raised in Harlem during the crack epidemic.

my daddy was a hustler during in the 80s in Harlem, so unfortunately after his untimely death, i grew up raised by a single mother.

i quickly realized that the odds weren't stacked in my favor so i learned to do the opposite of everyone around me.

i decided i wasn't having kids out of wedlock as a first in my family, i was headed to Howard University + was going to learn to hustle for my last name.

currently, my husband + i have been married for 19 years, have 4 kids together + run a successful six figure business for the past 13 years together.

i've learned to use the hustle i was raised with to win at this business game.

what are some of the challenges you faced in finding your dopeness + how did you overcome those challenges?

when my husband + i decided to walk away from his role as a educator + a...

How many of us go to the pump every day and say to ourselves, "Put the gas in the car and go." We give the car what it needs - its fuel, its motivation - then we take off. Why don't we do that in our own lives? When we get a nugget of great information that takes us five minutes to digest, that is our fuel, our mental or emotional fuel to get things going. Yet we continue to hesitate and overthink things instead of just doing a quick “gas and go.”

Some people say, "Well, you can't just be impulsive." Well, I'm at the stage in my life where if I don't start doing the things I know I should, whether it be because they're in my strengths or because God told me to, I'm going to regret it. I don’t know about you, but I have enough regrets.

Right now, as I spend this summer with my family and working on our businesses, I’m ready to “gas and go.” I have the fuel and it’s time for opportunity to meet preparation.

Where are you? Are you thinking...

Keri has been writing these blogs and sharing with many of you how to navigate the tricky waters of small business ownership for some time now. And I can guarantee she knows what she’s talking about, because she has been the backbone of our business success.

For the past 13 years, I have been out front in our business and that makes me more visible and susceptible to glory and blame. As most entrepreneurs will tell you, we go to bed at night worried about something, whether it be money, attracting clients, retaining clients, hiring staff, expanding, competition or the many other things a business owner must keep track of. Fortunately for me, I have not had to shoulder this on my own.

Keri knows most of my pain, but even when she doesn’t know, having her by my side to educate, inspire and comfort me, gives me the courage to tackle the hurdles in front of me and to believe in what’s to come in the future.

He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives...

A crossroads of knowing what you want to do, what you need to do, but not sure how you can do it?

Right now, I admit, I'm at a crossroads of consistency. Here I am with an amazing husband, a great family, an exceeding business, yet I must admit that I am too inconsistent. I haven't done a Tech Tuesday in two weeks. My husband and I haven't done a Sunday Success planning, and all that is wrong. I no longer want to be at this crossroads of consistency. I want to be someone who can say what they mean and mean what they say. At all times and every day.

So how can I help you if I'm at this crossroads? Well, you can join me. You can join me as I lift, as I climb. I'm launching this new venture, the Entrepreneurial Advisor, and I'm very excited about it. Why?  Because I figure, it’s time to work in my strengths. I'm going to do exactly what people expect of me, give them advice when asked.

People are always coming to me, “Keri, how do you do this? Keri, how do...