Better With Paul

Better With Paul had the pleasure of sitting down with a true trap connoisseur, a Black History preservationist who’s left me ridiculously impressed with what he’s done. Trapital is an online archive that chronicles the money moves of some of the most accomplished names in the culture.

One day, a quick look into the work of the infamous actor, writer, director, producer, comedian, and all-around entrepreneur by the name of Tyler Perry landed me on this incredible resource that detailed some of the most thought-provoking entertainment white papers I’ve ever come across. Episode 11 highlights the genius of the great Dan Runcie, the founder of the media company responsible for delivering the best business updates on your favorite entertainment moguls like Dame Dash, Jay Z, and Master P. We take the classic independent artist discussion to the next level by highlighting the critical business moves our favorite names made on their way to the top. We talk about the importance of ownership and understanding the power in independent growth while being raw and honest about the various challenges people face while trying to mitigate the perfect balance between natural skill and business sense.

It all boils down to a mixture of art and science. Some people followed many of the same steps that people like Tyler Perry took, and they haven’t seen a fraction of his billion-dollar sales - so what makes the people featured on Trapital so different?

Dan explains the way Trapital has become a resource over the years. It is the voice for Black culture to speak about the business matters and entrepreneurial concerns that impact our businesses more than others - and it’s a safe space for you to learn and apply various business models designed by people who face the same daily battles people like you and I tend to face. Tyler Perry wasn’t lucky. Dame didn’t decide on 100% ownership by accident. Jay Z highlights the importance of Black ownership, but he still signed a deal that made sense for him.

There is no right or wrong in entrepreneurship, and I think that’s one of the essential aspects Dan highlighted on this week’s show. You have to know your product, your audience, and the model you’ll rely on to bring your vision to life. Even in the entertainment industry, you need to understand things like demand and distribution. Tyler’s model today may not exist ten years from now, at least not in the same way. As more of the world becomes ‘woke’ to injustice, and more Black businesses are created, there will come a time where our faces will become much more common on the big screen. I’m sure Tyler knows this, and I’m confident his business is prepared to get restructured as necessary. The question is - have you been evaluating your business in the same way?

If you haven’t, you need to listen in on the talk Dan, and I just had because you’ll start to see yourself, your business, and your worth so much differently after you hear what he has to say.

To learn more about Trapital: https://trapital.co/

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Sir Kenneth Aphunezi Olisa, OBE is a British businessman and philanthropist. He is the first black Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London. He founded and led the AIM-listed technology merchant bank Interregnum and now leads Restoration Partners. Ken Olisa is a Past Master of the Worship Company of Information Technologists and has served and serves on several boards of philanthropic, educational, and regulator organizations. Sir Kenneth with his wife endowed the Olisa Library at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge.

This is an episode full of insight and inspiration!

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Reginald F. Lewis was a business pioneer, philanthropist, and titan. A Harvard Law School graduate, Lewis rose to prominence as a lawyer, financier, and leader of the global food company TLC Beatrice International. Lewis was the first African American ever to close an overseas billion dollar leveraged buyout deal. He acquired an unprecedented global conglomerate of 64 companies in 31 countries and paved the way for future entrepreneurs and black leaders through his life’s work until his untimely death at age 50.

To learn more about Reginald Lewis: https://www.amazon.com/Should-White-Guys-Have-Billion-Dollar/dp/1574780360

To join my book club discussion on Reginald Lewis' book 'Why Should White Guys Have All The Fun': http://www.paulcbrunson.com/bookclub

Be sure to join the Better With Paul newsletter for my biggest takeaways from each episode and special announcements: https://www.paulcbrunson.com/better/

Also, if you want to connect with the Better With Paul community, please join our private:

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/betterwithpaul

LinkedIn Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8941481/

Thanks so much for listening! If you like this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review.

In 2013, Charis Jones jumpstarted her brand with 3 things: the relentless desire to make a difference, her minivan, and her dining room. After much fear, she gathered enough money and confidence to showcase her products at a local trade show. 7 years later, thousands of customers all over the world shop at her boutique Sassy Jones both virtually and in-store. Also, hundreds of thousands tune in weekly every Wednesday night to interact with her on live on Facebook at the Sparkle party.

Charis Jones' goal to help women feel undeniably confident about themselves and shine their light brightly wherever they go has clearly been accomplished.

In this episode, we unpack the business and personal lessons of those seven years as well as breakdown exactly how Charis built her company without loans or outside funding.

Stick around until the very end to hear a BIG surprise. This is an episode full of energy and fun!

Be sure to join the Better With Paul newsletter for my biggest takeaways from each episode and special announcements: https://www.paulcbrunson.com/better/

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In this episode, I’m doing what most podcast experts tell us not to do and that is changing the format of the podcast. Experts say this because they know as an audience, you get used to hearing content in a certain way and deviation could mean you reject the content.

While I agree about the risk, I also think it’s important, as content creators and entrepreneurs to constantly experiment.

So, in this particular episode, I’m not interviewing anyone. Instead, I’m bringing on a co-host to discuss takeaways from the previous 13 Better With Paul episodes. Together, we’ll give our opinion on what we consider to be the episodes with the most hidden gems, the worst performing, the guests who were the most challenging and insightful, and I’ll even share the episode that stressed me out so much I had problems sleeping.

Perhaps even more important than all those takeaways is WHO will be sharing the mic with me -– my long-time friend and producer of the Better With Paul podcast. That‘s right, surprise! There is a producer of this podcast. You’ll get an introduction to her and a full behind the podcast breakdown of how we put these episodes together.

This is an episode full of insight, surprises, and a little bit of drama!

Be sure to join the Better With Paul newsletter for my biggest takeaways from each episode and special announcements: https://www.paulcbrunson.com/better/

Thanks so much for listening! If you like this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review.