As far as HBO's Insecuregoes, I've come to accept that we only get eight, 30-minute episodes of fun-f*ckery. And although it still doesn't feel like quite enough time to catch up on the lives of our four favorite girlfriends (Issa, Kelli, Tiffany, and Molly), they show us a damn good time with their lit antics each episode.
We've witnessed things get litty everywhere from Kiss 'n' Grind to the Party Lyft that Issa hosted on the clock of her part-time job and, lowkey, we want in (I'm just saying). True to form, the girls can't have a good night without it ending in food. If it's not that, then there are lunch dates, brunch dates, and date-dates that take us into the foodie world of Los Angeles.
For me personally, food is the culture. There's hardly anything I prefer more than a good food spot, which brings us here: to the dope list of Issa Dee-approved LA food joints that Issa Rae oh-so-casually name-drops from time to time.
Some places are more eventful than others, but as someone who likes to pretend I'm a part of Issa, Kelli, Molly, and Tiffany's squad, they're all relevant. If you aren't fortunate enough to live in LA, like myself, these are the places you'll want to hit up on your way to The Dunes for your impromptu photoshoot.
1. Worldwide Tacos
HBO's Insecure
As we see Issa working towards living her better life (not yet the best one) in the opening episodes of season three, she's finally moving out of her "hoetation", or rebound phase, and looking for things that are generally more fulfilling, including but not limited to the men she entertains.
So you can imagine our excitement when Lyft Bae, Nathan, interrupted Issa in the midst of her BBQ Salmon Tacos from Worldwide. Yeah, we looked past the fact that he startled Issa into dropping her meal on the ground and we did it before he even offered to buy a new one. Although we were supposed to be watching Issa learn with the mantra "know better, do better" -- what actually happened is, a world full of women realized that we can't help but love a project! We saw potential signs of f*ckboy written all over Nathan and we went all in anyways, and then proceeded to make excuses for him. And to think, it all started over tacos!
Worldwide is a walk-up, window type of move so no need to get fancy, but save room for the top-notch choices.
Featured image via Insecure/HBO
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While an evolution is a natural progression that happens as businesses grow, a rebrand is a total change. Lola tells xoNecole, "A total rebrand is necessary when a business’s current reputation/what it’s known for is at odds with the business’s vision or direction.
"For example, if you’ve fundamentally changed what your product is and does, it’s likely that your brand is out of alignment with the business. Or, if you find your company is developing a reputation that doesn’t serve it, it might be time to pump the brakes and figure out what needs to change.
She continues, "Sometimes you’ll see companies (especially startups) announce a name change that comes with updated messaging, visuals, etc. That usually means their vision has changed or expanded, and their previous branding was too narrow/couldn’t encompass everything they planned to do."
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The Brand Doula was born in 2019, and its focus is on putting "the experiences, goals, and needs of women of color founders first," as well as brands with "culture-shifting missions."
According to Lola, culture-shifting is "the act of influencing dominant behavior, beliefs, or experiences in a community or group (ideally, for the better)."
"At The Brand Doula, we work with companies and leaders that set out to challenge the status quo in their industries and communities. They’re here to make an impact that sends ripples across the market," she says.
"We help the problem solvers of the world — the ones who aren't satisfied with 'this is how it's always been' and instead ask 'how could this be better?' Our clients build for impact, reimagining tools, systems, and ways of living to move cultures forward."
The Brand Doula has worked with many brands, including Too Collective, to assist with their collaboration with Selena Gomez's Rare Beauty and Balanced Black Girl for a "refresh," aka rebrand. For businesses looking to rebrand, Lola shares four essential steps.
1. Do an audit of your current brand experience — what’s still relevant and what needs to change? Reflect on why you’re doing the rebrand in the first place and what success would look like after relaunching.
2. Tackle the overall strategy first — before you start redesigning logos and websites, align on a new vision for your brand. How do you want your company to be positioned moving forward? Has your audience changed at all? Will your company have a fresh personality and voice?
3. Bring your audience along the journey — there’s no need to move in secret. Inviting your current audience into the journey can actually help them feel more connected to and invested in your story, enough to stick around as changes are being made.
4. Keep business moving — one of my biggest pet peeves is when companies take down their websites as soon as they have the idea to rebrand, then have a Coming Soon page up for months! You lose a lot of momentum and interest by doing that. If you’re still in business and generating income, continue to operate while you work on your rebrand behind the scenes. You don’t want to cut existing customers off out of the blue, and you also don’t want so much downtime that folks forget your business exists or start looking for other solutions.
While determining whether the rebrand was successful may take a few months, Lola says a clear sign that it is unsuccessful is negative feedback from your target audience. "Customers are typically more vocal about what they don’t like more than what they do like," she says.
But some good signs to look out for are improvements in engagement with your marketing, positive reviews, press and increase in retention, and overall feeling aligned with the new branding.
For more information about Lola and The Brand Doula, visit her website, thebranddoula.com.
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