I Built My Investment Property Brand In Less Than A Year
As Told To is a recurring segment on xoNecole where real women are given a platform to tell their stories in first-person narrative as told to a writer.
This is India Monae's story, as told to Charmin Michelle.
Leading up to the accident, it was a normal Friday for me.
As an entrepreneur, I was always busy and I had a pop-up shop for my boutique that day. My cousin, who had just graduated from college, was with me; she came to shadow me for the summer. She grabbed her keys, we hopped in the car, and we decided to head to lunch at a restaurant located in a pretty busy area. Suddenly, as we were turning left, we heard a loud engine revving—we heard him before we even saw him, speeding well over 80 mph on a residential street.
Drunk driver.
My cousin veered left in an effort to avoid the impact, and BOOM.
We were struck head-on, more so on my (passenger) side.
What made it even worse, this guy hit us so hard that our car flew backward and landed on the patio of a restaurant, striking a waitress. She was lucky to only sustain three broken ribs.
As for me, once the car stopped, I immediately marveled at the fact that I was conscious. I checked on my cousin and made an effort to use my remaining strength to get out of the car.
I realized I was trapped.
The car was completely inverted, smashed on my feet. Once emergency responders arrived, chaos ensued. There were paramedics, firefighters, and policemen everywhere, all working together to get me out. It took roughly 40 minutes to cut the car enough to pull me out.
Both of my feet were completely shattered.
I was whisked off to the hospital to have emergency reconstructive surgery the next morning. On the way, I lost consciousness.
I remember waking up and one of my friends was in the corner nauseous, trying not to throw up. Another was sitting on the floor with her head down. Confused, I quickly realized the bone in my right foot had come completely out.
—
Time passed and I spent about a week in the hospital, which was a blur. My meds would put me to sleep left and right, I could never stay awake for long periods of time. I ended up with two metal screws, four pins, and about 11 metal plates laced through both feet, leaving me in a wheelchair for six months.
Then came recovery...
And it. Was. Tough. It was humbling. The pain was so intense, that they were pumping me with meds every two hours.
And it sucked because I was incapable of anything. I couldn't take care of my son, I couldn't work, I couldn't shower. I couldn't use the bathroom on my own, I had to use a handheld urinal. My mind would constantly go a mile a minute. I had been working so hard with work, as a full-time stylist and online boutique owner prior to the accident, so I was stressed, but doing well. After the accident, however, all of my income stopped. I didn't have much savings; my whole world shut down. I even had to refund orders, because I couldn't fulfill them.
Being wheelchair-bound made me realize that I needed to work smart if I was going to survive. I had a son to take care of and realized I needed to create stability. I needed streams of income that would flow whether I was walking or not.
So, I began to educate myself and pivot my business.
The vast majority of my recovery time, I spent studying real estate investing. For some strange reason, I gravitated towards it, maybe because I knew the revenue potential. And after committing myself to learning, I actually became very fluent in its language. I knew that investing was going to create that financial stability for my family, so I dove in, full throttle. I began watching rehabbing videos, reading books, and cleaning up my credit. After about six months, I transitioned from the chair into a heavy special walking boot. And then to crutches, eventually to a cane.
And sis, guess what? You better believe I would attend real estate seminars in every single one of them too; nothing stopped me, I was adamant.
Six months later, I purchased my first property. And then the second. The third—so on and so on. Within a year, I had six and my mission evolved. My passion developed into helping the black community create generational wealth while securing a legitimate legacy. Now, I mentor some of the most ferocious headhunters in real estate. And most importantly, I own several homes, which will all be left to my son.
I want that for all of us.
—
Over time, I have adjusted to a new normal and pushing the importance of my agenda. My biggest takeaway from my journey, which I cannot stress this enough, is to know the significance of entrepreneurship—or at least passive income. I've been an entrepreneur for 15 years, but at the time of my accident, I wasn't reveling in my full potential. And ladies, being counterproductive is real.
Just because you're busy, it doesn't mean that you're productive. And I was forced to distinguish the difference between the two.
Learn how to maximize your productivity to relieve yourself of spending too much time within your businesses. Work SMARTER, because we aren't taught this shit in school. Not all entrepreneurs have a retirement to fall back on. So, investing in assets is extremely important.
Credit > Christian Louboutin
As for what's next for me, maintaining and expanding. I'm actually staying afloat during the pandemic purely out of habit.
Many are out of work or furloughed, and in complete survival mode. COVID has taken so many jobs, and turned the world upside down, which is very reminiscent of what I went through, so I feel prepared. I feel I've been in this space before. And although I've had to cancel my business tour and postpone upcoming retreats, and even if I have tenants' situations to consider, I still have multiple streams of income, so, I'm not as affected, which is exactly how I designed it to be.
If you're struggling with where to start, know that your future is now. Invest your money so that it always sees returns. Investing will give you the freedom we all deserve (I wish I had known this years ago, which is why I preach this so heavily now).
Land > Labels.
Accident survivors: it's not easy moving forward, but don't pity yourselves. Admittedly, I'm still very traumatized, as it's hard for me to drive sometimes. But we survived because we still have a purpose to fulfill here. It takes a certain amount of darkness to see the stars. But don't ever stop seeking the light. There is purpose in pain.
So, stay encouraged always.
To attend one of India's classes, you can find more information on her Instagram page, @_indiamonae. You can also find a full list of services by following her Land Over Labels page and/or her website.
Featured image courtesy of India Monae
Charmin Michelle is a southern native and creative spirit who works as a content marketer and events manager in Chicago. She enjoys traveling, #SummertimeChi, and the journey of mastering womanhood. Connect with her on Instagram @charminmichelle.
This Black Woman-Owned Creative Agency Shows Us The Art Of Rebranding
Rebranding is an intricate process and very important to the success of businesses that want to change. However, before a business owner makes this decision, they should determine whether it's a rebrand or an evolution.
That's where people like Lola Adewuya come in. Lola is the founder and CEO of The Brand Doula, a brand development studio with a multidisciplinary approach to branding, social media, marketing, and design.
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."
Feature image courtesy
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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Exclusive: After Focusing On His Career For So Long, David Banner Is Now Ready To Find A Wife
During the Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heistpremiere, David Banner, who stars in the film, opened up about his weight loss and his desire to get married and start a family. At 50, David has accomplished many feats, from rapping, producing, and acting, and now he's ready for the next phase of his life. "I want to get married," he tells xoNecole.
"I'm tired. I want to find my wife, have some kids. We chase all of these esoteric goals, and sometimes we look back, and we left the things that really matter. I looked up one day, I had all of them, the music accolades, the film accolades, not all the ones that I want, but a lot of them. I had accomplished my goal, had chased my goal so long that when I looked up, I saw that I ran off and left everything else."
He also shares how working in the entertainment industry can sometimes affect his life and relationships with others. "We forget to be human beings, and people don't allow us to be human beings," he continues. "So, that's the reason why I said what I said, because I know what y'all platform means, and I want people to know that there are still some human beings that's up on that camera, and sometimes we hurt too."
Back in 2016, the "Like a Pimp" artist released the single "Marry Me" and shared in an exclusive interview with us how he is working on becoming his best self for his future wife.
"I just want to be the man that most Black women want to marry. I want to be a Black man that stands strong," he said. "I'm not perfect, but [I want to be the man] women want to marry and that kids want to be their father. I want to be that man. [When I die] I want people to say that that's a strong African man, I am proud that he's a part of my culture."
During our most recent interview with the "Get Like Me" rapper, he also revealed that he lost 35 lbs and dished on how important it is to take care of your body. "I have this thing that I want to be our children's superhero on the screen and off, and people always talk about mental health, but part of your mental health is what you put in your body," he says.
"People always talk about God. People always talk about the church, but the real church is your body, your temple. So I am treating my body and my temple as if God is in there."
Fight Night is out now on Peacock.
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