No matter where you are in your career journey, you'll benefit from thinking like an entrepreneur. Whether you're running a business, climbing the corporate ladder, or balancing a side hustle that'll be your full-time job one day, there are essential skills that you should master to grow your career.
What makes Millennials so unique is that many of us possess a lot of these skills even if we don't realize it. Born and raised in the digital age, technology comes second nature to us. We creatively carve our own paths by using our resources to be innovative and improve the spaces that we occupy.
I interviewed 14 entrepreneurial-minded Millennials from various backgrounds to learn more about the hustler spirit and how they practice mindfulness.
Here are 10 gems that they shared to help you get your mindset right, whether you have a business or slay at a 9-5:
1.First, get clear on what it means to have an entrepreneurial mindset.
Alechia Reese
Alechia Reese, a brand strategist for large companies, influencers, and celebrity clients, summed it up perfectly: "One who is keen at building, creating, and progressing toward a goal that solves a problem - without being prompted, or directed."
2.Hone in on the essential traits that every Millennial who’s an entrepreneur at heart must possess.
Rashida Banks
"The entrepreneurial mindset is directly tied to having leadership and problem solving skills," says Shay Duriel of The Bronze Hustle, a learning and community platform for Black bloggers and online entrepreneurs.
"If you are able to exercise those skills in your job, not only will you be a better employee, you'll be a better entrepreneur."
The ladies also ranked having the ability to take initiative, creativity, and innovation, critical thinking, and fearlessness as the top characteristics that every entrepreneurial minded Millennial must have.
Rashida Banks, blogger and creative business consultant, emphasized that being orderly is another essential trait. "Having order, not only includes keeping good records, or making sure your email is organized, but it also includes your work area as well. Order helps to speed things up and it makes you more efficient, and the lack of order slows you down."
Other traits to embrace: resourcefulness, flexibility and adaptability, good communication and listening skills, persistence, and good intuition.
3.Take control of your career - whatever that may look like.
Lauren Bealore
Vivian Nweze is a media host/producer and influencer that's in charge of her career. "I believe that anyone who seeks out opportunities that aren't handed to them or already a part of their 'duties' has an entrepreneurial mindset."
"We have more skills than we realize and someone is going to be willing to pay for it."
Lauren Bealore, who works in political fundraising while running Y.A.B., a venture conglomerate that's owned by women of color, describes an entrepreneurial-minded Millennial as "an individual that doesn't just carry an ambitious mindset but one that uses their tenacity to execute ambitious ideals. This individual must design the roadmap for their career rather than follow what society historically carved out before them. That is what separates the Millennial spirit from other generations."
4.Hustle… HARD.
Diamonde Williamson
No matter what you do for a living, you have to put in work to reap success.
"The same energy you put into your passion should be the same energy you put into your day job no matter what it is. In order to build up the characteristics needed to be a successful entrepreneur, you have to continuously practice those skills," says Joanna, founder of Loud Music Tour, a live music production company and booking agency for indie artists.
"To be entrepreneurial minded means the work you're doing must be obsessive," says Diamonde Williamson the creator of Blossom, a video-on-demand platform for women of color.
"Our livelihoods are at our stake. We may or may not know when the check is coming in so we must be obsessive in figuring out ways to make our business grow. I'm not doing this just so I can work 9-5p. I'm doing this so one day we have a massive office with floor to floor ceilings we can all work out of."
5.Be a strategic and innovative expert in your industry.
Lauren Jackson
"When I think of an entrepreneurial minded Millennial, I think of people who have found a void in society and figured out a way to fill it. [We] recognize the value of providing services and products to a specific target market," says Lauren R. Jackson, Esq., an attorney who also runs IMANEE, Inc. a nonprofit organization that empowers African American girls and women.
Being strategic as a business owner is a must, but it's also important in the workplace. Brittany Dandy, a branded content producer and journalist, believes: "An entrepreneurial minded Millennial understands that they have entrepreneurial career options no matter their industry."
"They also understand how to leverage their skillset to amplify their professional value and impact on their community or career field."
Anique Hameed, a philanthropy and social good advisor at her firm Opulence Consulting Group, agrees:
"We are consistently trying to build something new, and create a better world in doing so. We are inspired by the experiences of past generations, but know that the old models for achieving success don't often work for us. We are unafraid take the reins and drive innovation forward."
To remain competitive and strategic, many of the ladies encourage becoming an expert in your field. Study the industry, stay up to date on trends, and publish work on relevant topics to position yourself as a thought leader.
6.Work your hustle.
D'Shonda Brown
We are all challenged with not having enough hours in the day, but that's especially true if you have a side hustle and a full-time job. D'Shonda Brown, CEO of Gold Blooded Communications, a public relations and creative branding agency, encourages other Millennials to get scrappy with their time.
She recommends that career climbers use their lunch break or other gaps in their time to build their dream.
"There are always those small crevices and crannies in your day where you can work on your business. Don't let your day job be your center. Being an entrepreneur is all about adjustment and change and a 9-5 job is the perfect way to test your adaptation skills."
7.Leverage where you are and what you have.
Tiffany Malone
"You have to see yourself as the 'CEO' of me. The intrapreneurship [behaving like an entrepreneur while working within a large organization] of Millennials is our way of demanding our own leadership development, creating our own learning outcomes, and adding variety to our own careers. It means we have to rise to leadership across the board in the day job as well as the side hustle," says Aerial Ellis, a professor and author of The Original Millennial.
"See your salary as an investment in your entrepreneurial pursuits. Allow the resources and relationships to fuel your direction by letting the influence you gain show up in both worlds and watch the benefits become assets."
Tiffany Malone is doing just that. She balances working as a social media specialist for a nonprofit with her wellness lifestyle brand InspireFire, where she hosts the Soul Filling podcast.
"I take everything I learn at my job and apply it to my businesses if I can," says Tiffany. "For example, I'm learning more about PR and fundraising for my job, but you better believe I'll be applying what I learn there to my own businesses. Think about what skills your day job has and how you can apply it to your own side hustle."
8.Get your money by creating multiple streams of income.
Mia Hall
"I love the option of being able to pursue your passion at your job, or working at a job to fund your passion until you can find a job you love or pursue your dream as an entrepreneur full time," says Mia Hall, a social media strategist, writer and founder of Brown Girls Glow, an empowerment organization for young women.
"It's said that millionaires have 7 streams of income so 'side-hustles' are work just like jobs and I celebrate them."
Diamonde of Blossom touched on an important topic that entrepreneurs and career climbers alike should strive towards. "For me, one of the larger goals is generational wealth and I can't get there playing small. So everyday, I choose to play BIG."
9.Identify strategic mutually-beneficial collaborations.
Brittany Dandy
"Let's band together to make a difference. Two powerhouses can co-exist and succeed, while also collaborating to make a change. There is power in numbers," says D'Shonda.
10. Find a mindfulness practice that works for you.
Aerial Ellis
Many of the ladies found that journaling, praying, going to church, exercising, writing to-do lists, relaxing, and meditation helps them practice mindfulness.
"When we quiet the mind, we gain inspired ideas and can think of more ways to solve and serve. As entrepreneurs, mindfulness can help us have the discipline and discernment we need for intuitive thinking," says Aerial.
Music can help your mindfulness practice as well. Here's a Spotify playlist that these ladies helped me curate to get your mind in the zone and keep you focused.
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So, we handpicked one hundred It Girls who embody that palpable It Factor moving through us as young Black women, the kind of motion lighting up the world both IRL and across the internet.
It Girl 100 became xoNecole’s most successful program, with the hashtag organically reaching more than forty million impressions on Instagram in just twenty-four hours. Yes, it caught on like wildfire because we celebrated some of the most brilliant and influential GenZennial women of color setting trends and shaping culture. But more than that, it resonated because the women we celebrated felt seen.
Many were already known in their industries for keeping this generation fly and lit, but rarely received recognition or flowers. It Girl 100 became a safe space to be uplifted, and for us as Black women to bask in what felt like an era of our brilliance, beauty, and boundless influence on full display.
And then, almost overnight, it was as if the rug was pulled from under us as Black women, as the It Girls of the world.
Our much-needed, much-deserved season of ease and soft living quickly metamorphosed into a time of self-preservation and survival. Our motion and economic progression seemed strategically slowed, our light under siege.
The air feels heavier now. The headlines colder. Our Black girl magic is being picked apart and politicized for simply existing.
With that climate shift, as we prepare to launch our second annual It Girl 100 honoree list, our team has had to dig deep on the purpose and intention behind this year’s list. Knowing the spirit of It Girl 100 is about motion, sauce, strides, and progression, how do we celebrate amid uncertainty and collective grief when the juice feels like it is being squeezed out of us?
As we wrestled with that question, we were reminded that this tension isn’t new. Black women have always had to find joy in the midst of struggle, to create light even in the darkest corners. We have carried the weight of scrutiny for generations, expected to be strong, to serve, to smile through the sting. But this moment feels different. It feels deeply personal.
We are living at the intersection of liberation and backlash. We are learning to take off our capes, to say no when we are tired, to embrace softness without apology.
And somehow, the world has found new ways to punish us for it.
In lifestyle, women like Kayla Nicole and Ayesha Curry have been ridiculed for daring to choose themselves. Tracee Ellis Ross was labeled bitter for speaking her truth about love. Meghan Markle, still, cannot breathe without critique.
In politics, Kamala Harris, Letitia James, and Jasmine Crockett are dragged through the mud for standing tall in rooms not built for them.
In sports, Angel Reese, Coco Gauff, and Taylor Townsend have been reminded that even excellence will not shield you from racism or judgment.
In business, visionaries like Diarrha N’Diaye-Mbaye and Melissa Butler are fighting to keep their dreams alive in an economy that too often forgets us first.
Even our icons, Beyoncé, Serena, and SZA, have faced criticism simply for evolving beyond the boxes society tried to keep them in.
From everyday women to cultural phenoms, the pattern is the same. Our light is being tested.
And yet, somehow, through it all, we are still showing up as that girl, and that deserves to be celebrated.
Because while the world debates our worth, we keep raising our value. And that proof is all around us.
This year alone, Naomi Osaka returned from motherhood and mental health challenges to reach the semifinals of the US Open. A’ja Wilson claimed another MVP, reminding us that beauty and dominance can coexist. Brandy and Monica are snatching our edges on tour. Kahlana Barfield Brown sold out her new line in the face of a retailer that had been canceled. And Melissa Butler’s company, The Lip Bar, is projecting a forty percent surge in sales.
We are no longer defining strength by how much pain we can endure. We are defining it by the unbreakable light we continue to radiate.
We are the women walking our daily steps and also continuing to run solid businesses. We are growing in love, taking solo trips, laughing until it hurts, raising babies and ideas, drinking our green juice, and praying our peace back into existence.
We are rediscovering the joy of rest and realizing that softness is not weakness, it is strategy.
And through it all, we continue to lift one another. Emma Grede is creating seats at the table. Valeisha Butterfield has started a fund for jobless Black women. Arian Simone is leading in media with fearless conviction. We are pouring into each other in ways the world rarely sees but always feels.
So yes, we are in the midst of societal warfare. Yes, we are being tested. Yes, we are facing economic strain, political targeting, and public scrutiny. But even war cannot dim a light that is divinely ours.
And we are still shining.
And we are still softening.
And we are still creating.
And we are still It.
That is the quiet magic of Black womanhood, our ability to hold both truth and triumph in the same breath, to say yes, and to life’s contradictions.
It is no coincidence that this year, as SheaMoisture embraces the message “Yes, And,” they stand beside us as partners in celebrating this class of It Girls. Because that phrase, those two simple words, capture the very essence of this moment.
Yes, we are tired. And we are still rising.
Yes, we are questioned. And we are the answer.
Yes, we are bruised. And we are still beautiful.
This year’s It Girl 100 is more than a list. It is a love letter to every Black woman who dares to live out loud in a world that would rather she whisper. This year’s class is living proof of “Yes, And,” women who are finding ways to thrive and to heal, to build and to rest, to lead and to love, all at once.
It is proof that our joy is not naive, our success not accidental. It is the reminder that our light has never needed permission.
So without further ado, we celebrate the It Girl 100 Class of 2025–2026.
We celebrate the millions of us who keep doing it with grace, grit, and glory.
Because despite it all, we still shine.
Because we are still her.
Because we are still IT, girl.
Meet all 100 women shaping culture in the It Girl 100 Class of 2025. View the complete list of honorees here.
Featured image by xoStaff
Then there were those who gave up their zip code altogether and found a permanent home in the skies. After years spent recruiting students for a university, Lisa-Gaye Shakespeare became a full-time travel influencer and founded her travel company, Shakespeare Agency. And she's not alone.
These stories mirror the experiences of women across the world. For millions, the pandemic induced a seismic shift in priorities and desires. Corporate careers that were once hailed as the ultimate “I made it” moment in one's career were pushed to the back burner as women quit their jobs in search of a more self-fulfilling purpose.
xoNecole spoke to these three Black women who used the pandemic as a springboard to make their wildest dreams a reality, the lessons they learned, and posed the question of whether they’ll ever return to cubicle life.
Answers have been edited for context and length.
xoNecole: How did the pandemic lead to you leaving the cubicle?
Randi: I was becoming stagnant. I was working in mortgage and banking but I felt like my personality was too big for that job! From there, I transitioned to radio but was laid off during the pandemic. That’s what made me go full throttle with entrepreneurship.
Gabrielle: I moved around a lot for work. Five times over a span of seven years. I knew I needed a break because I had experienced so much. So, I just quit one day. Effective immediately. I didn’t know what I was going to do, I just knew I needed a break and to just regroup.
Lisa-Gaye: I was working in recruiting at a university and my dream job just kind of fell into my lap! But, I never got to fully enjoy it before the world shut down in March [2020] and I was laid off. On top of that, I was stuck in Miami because Jamaica had closed its borders due to the pandemic before I was able to return.
Randi O
xoN: Tell us about your journey after leaving Corporate America.
Randi: I do it all now! I have a podcast, I’m an on-air talent, I act, and I own a public relations company that focuses on social media engagement. It’s all from my network. When you go out and start a business, you can’t just say, “Okay I’m done with Corporate America,” and “Let me do my own thing.” If you don’t build community, if you don’t build a network it's going to be very hard to sustain.
Gabrielle: I realized in New York, there was not a lot to do for Black lesbians and queer folks. We don’t really have dedicated bars and spaces so I started doing events and it took off. I started focusing on my brand, Raw Honey. I opened a co-working space, and I was able to host an NYC Pride event in front of 100,000 people. I hit the ground running with Raw Honey. My events were all women coming to find community and come together with other lesbians and queer folks. I found my purpose in that.
Lisa-Gaye: After being laid off, I wrote out all of my passions and that’s how I came up with [my company] Shakespeare Agency. It was all of the things that I loved to do under one umbrella. The pandemic pulled that out of me. I had a very large social media following, so I pitched to hotels that I would feature them on my blog and social media. This reignited my passion for travel. I took the rest of the year to refocus my brand to focus solely on being a content creator within the travel space.
Gabrielle
xoN: What have you learned about yourself during your time as an entrepreneur?
Randi: [I learned] the importance of my network and community that I created. When I was laid off I was still keeping those relationships with people that I used to work with. So it was easy for me to transition into social media management and I didn’t have to start from scratch.
Gabrielle: The biggest thing I learned about myself was my own personal identity as a Black lesbian and how much I had assimilated into straight and corporate culture and not being myself. Now, I feel comfortable and confident being my authentic self. Now, I'm not sacrificing anything else for my career. I have a full life. I have friends. I have a social life. And when you are happy and have a full quality of life, I feel like [I] can have more longevity in my career.
Lisa-Gaye: [I'm doing] the best that I've ever done. The discipline that I’m building within myself. Nobody is saying, ‘Oh you have to be at work at this time.’ There’s no boss saying, ‘Why are you late?’ But, if I’m laying in bed at 10 a.m. then it's me saying [to myself], 'Okay, Lisa, get up, it's time for you to start working!’ That’s all on me.
xoNecole: What mistakes do you want to help people avoid when leaving Corporate America?
Randi: You have to learn about the highs and lows of entrepreneurship. You have a fast season and a slow season and I started to learn that when you're self-employed the latter season hits hard. Don't get caught up on the lows, just keep going and don't stop. I’m glad I did.
Gabrielle: I think everyone should quit their job and just figure it out for a second. You will discover so much about yourself when you take a second to just focus on you. Your skill set will always be there. You can’t be afraid of what will happen when you bet on yourself.
Lisa-Gaye: When it comes to being an influencer the field is saturated and a lot of people suffer from imposter syndrome. There is nothing wrong with being an imposter but find out how to make it yours, how to make it better. If you go to the store, you see 10 million different brands of bread! But you are choosing the brand that you like because you like that particular flavor.
So be an imposter, but be the best imposter of yourself and add your own flair, your own flavor. Make the better bread. The bread that you want.
Lisa-Gaye Shakespeare
xoNecole: Will you ever return to your 9 to 5?
Randi: I wouldn’t go back to Corporate America. But I don’t mind working under someone. A lot of people try to get into this business saying, “I can't work under anyone.” That’s not necessarily the reason to start a business because you're always going to answer to somebody. Clients, brands, there’s always someone else involved.
Gabrielle: I went back! I really needed a break and I gave myself that. But, I realized I’m a corporate girl, [and] I enjoy the work that I do. I’m good at it and I really missed that side of myself. I have different sides of me and my whole identity is not Raw Honey or my queerness. A big side of me is business and that’s why I love having my career. Now I feel like my best self.
Lisa-Gaye: I really don’t. For right now, I love working for myself. It's gratifying, it's challenging, it's exciting. It’s a big deal for me to say I own my own business. That I am my own boss, and I'm a Black woman doing it.
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Featured image courtesy of Lisa-Gaye Shakespeare
Originally published on February 6, 2023