Black women's labor is systemically undervalued, so when we think about starting a business, we make two critical mistakes: We have a hard time identifying which of our skill sets are profitable business ideas and the value of our experience in the market!

In this podcast episode, I'm sharing:

• Why our skill set is more valuable as soon as we launch a business.
• How to identify the value of your professional experience
• How you can find your best business idea on your resume
• Why Black women can increase their power in the workplace by building a business
• Business Ideas based on common fields that Black women work in.

It's time for more Black women to create their own path to financial, personal, and professional liberation by building a business that we love. To start your journey, check out the resources below.

Get the 9-5 Exit Blueprint: https://www.mercedesswan.com/offers/CNrFmiHw/checkout

Join the Black Woman Bliss Community with a 14-day Trial: https://www.mercedesswan.com/career-and-business-community-for-black-women

Watch the Black Woman Bliss Blueprint Webinar: https://www.mercedesswan.com/bliss

Schedule a 1:1 Clarity & Strategy Consultation with Mercedes: https://www.mercedesswan.com/career-and-business-coaching-for-black-women

The Host

Mercedes Swan is the Career Love Coach and creates empowering and safe places for high-performing and purpose-driven Black women. Leveraging her experience in HR and DEI, she has a mission to close the pay, promotion, and inclusion gap for Black women and other historically marginalized groups on the way to collective career liberation. She is the founder of the Black Woman Bliss Community and Career Love, a social impact organization

About Mercedes Swan: https://www.mercedesswan.com/about

Hosted by Mercedes Swan | hello@mercedesswan.com | www.mercedesswan.com

To support the podcast, subscribe, review, and share this with another professional sister in love who needs to hear this!

In this episode, I sit down with Chanel Brooks to discuss how Black women can use the Damm Method to embrace softness in all areas of their lives. Chanel shares that "softness isn't a luxury; it's a choice."

Chanel and I discuss:

• How others & their perceptions may hold us back
• How to start integrating softness into your life
• How to be soft at work even when there are challenges
• How power and softness are actually compatible.

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsQlYL-cNpc

About Chanel Brooks

Chanel B. Brooks is a transformational speaker, author, and women's wellness advocate who helps women (especially Black women) move from survival mode into intentional living and the soft life. With nearly 30 years of leadership experience in the energy industry and a passion for personal transformation, Chanel empowers women to reclaim their voice, set boundaries, and redesign their lives with confidence. She is the author of If You Need to Slow the Hell Down Was a Person: The Case of the Missing Luggage.

Connect or Book Chanel as a Speaker: www.chanelbbrooks.com

Get Chanel's Book "If You Need to Slow the Hell Down Was a Person: The Case of the Missing Luggage." : https://www.chanelbbrooks.com/

About Mercedes Swan

Mercedes Swan is the Career Love Coach and creates empowering and safe places for high-performing and purpose-driven Black women. Leveraging her experience in HR and DEI, she has a mission to close the pay, promotion, and inclusion gap for Black women and other historically marginalized groups on the way to collective career liberation. She is the founder of the Black Woman Bliss Community and Career Love, a social impact organization

About Mercedes Swan: https://www.mercedesswan.com/about

Join the Black Woman Bliss Community with a 14-day Trial: https://www.mercedesswan.com/career-and-business-community-for-black-women

Watch the Black Woman Bliss Blueprint Webinar: https://www.mercedesswan.com/bliss

Schedule a 1:1 Clarity & Strategy Consultation with Mercedes: https://www.mercedesswan.com/career-and-business-coaching-for-black-women

To support the podcast subscribe, review, and share this with another professional sister in love who needs to hear this!

Hosted by Mercedes Swan | hello@mercedesswan.com | www.mercedesswan.com

As a Black woman with a dream, I got tired of hearing "manifestation" this, "delulu" that. I was trying my hardest to build a life that centered my bliss.

I didn't want to work a 9-5. I wanted to travel the world, and I wanted a business that created a path to financial freedom... but things weren't going well.

I started learning about three manifestation strategies: visualization, embodiment, and shadow work and everything started shifting.

Join me for this episode of the Black Women Podcast, where I share more about the challenges Black women face with manifestation, the common misconceptions, and how you can find the manifestation style that works for you.

To support the podcast, subscribe, review, and share this with another professional sister in love who needs to hear this!

Join the Black Woman Bliss Community with a 14-day Trial: https://www.mercedesswan.com/career-and-business-community-for-black-women

Watch the Black Woman Bliss Blueprint Webinar: https://www.mercedesswan.com/bliss

Schedule a 1:1 Clarity & Strategy Consultation with Mercedes: https://www.mercedesswan.com/career-and-business-coaching-for-black-women

Hosted by Mercedes Swan | hello@mercedesswan.com | www.mercedesswan.com

In this episode, I sit down with Kisha Wynter to discuss power literacy and how Black women can tap into power dynamics in the workplace to reach their personal and professional goals.

During this powerful episode we discuss:

• How to recognize who has power in the workplace
• The different types of power that show up at work
• How Black women can leverage power to increase visibility and opportunity
• The DIVA method as a strategy to increase your power at work

About Kisha Wynter

Kisha Wynter is an executive coach and former Fortune 50 HR leader who helps senior leaders develop power literacy: understanding how influence, decision-making, and authority actually operate inside organizations. She partners with executives to surface hidden performance inhibitors, navigate complex power dynamics, and scale leadership capacity at the enterprise level.

Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kishawynter/

Get her Book, Your Power Unleashed: https://www.yourpowerunleashed.org/booklaunch

About Mercedes:

Mercedes Swan is the Career Love Coach and creates empowering and safe places for high-performing and purpose-driven Black women. Leveraging her experience in HR and DEI, she has a mission to close the pay, promotion, and inclusion gap for Black women and other historically marginalized groups on the way to collective career liberation. She is the founder of the Black Woman Bliss Community and Career Love, a social impact organization

About Mercedes Swan: https://www.mercedesswan.com/about

Connect with Mercedes Swan: https://www.mercedesswan.com/connect

Join the Black Woman Bliss Community: https://www.mercedesswan.com/career-and-business-community-for-black-women

Register for the FREE Black Woman Bliss Webinar:

Get clear on your purpose, pursue it with confidence and bring your career or business into alignment with your dreams.

https://www.mercedesswan.com/bliss

TRANSCRIPTS: https://www.mercedesswan.com/blog/black-women-power-literacy

Sis, are you really ready to launch a business?

So many Black women are asking the same question right now: Should I start a business?

Maybe you're tired of toxic workplaces. Maybe you're dreaming about more freedom, flexibility, and financial abundance. Or maybe you're wondering if entrepreneurship is the answer to the burnout, layoffs, pay inequity, and frustration you've experienced throughout your career.

In this episode of the Black Woman Bliss Podcast, I'm sharing the truth about launching a business and what every Black woman needs to know before! Before you launch a business, quit your job, or completely walk away from your career, there are a few things you need to consider first

In this episode, you'll learn:

• How to determine whether entrepreneurship is right for you
• The biggest misconceptions Black women have about starting a business
• The mindset shifts needed to build a successful busines
• Questions to ask yourself before leaving your 9-to-5
• How to know if now is the right time to start a business
• The role of career alignment, purpose, and lifestyle design in your decision-making

FEATURED IN THIS EPISODE:

Join the Community: https://www.mercedesswan.com/career-and-business-community-for-black-women

Take the Assessment: https://www.mercedesswan.com/quiz

RSVP for the Webinar: https://www.mercedesswan.com/bliss

Book a Consultation: https://www.mercedesswan.com/career-and-business-coaching-for-black-women

Try out Kajabi: https://app.kajabi.com/r/FgYkPS2m

Tech Stack: https://mercedesswan.notion.site/Mercedes-Swan-s-Tech-Stack-21b0ae166516808897caec2fbd1f1b2e?source=copy_link

Connect with Mercedes: https://www.mercedesswan.com/connectChapters

00:00 Introduction to Entrepreneurship for Black Women

03:11 Understanding the Reality of Black Women in Business

05:56 Key Components for Launching a Business

09:05 The Importance of Self-Direction and Strategic Planning

11:46 Business Delivery and Capacity Considerations

14:52 Deciding if Entrepreneurship is Right for You

30:46 Navigating Personal Growth and Learning

39:47 Misconceptions About Entrepreneurship for Black Women

50:58 Identifying the Right Time to Start a Business

TRANSCRIPTS:

What happens when a layoff becomes the push to finally build the business that has been calling your name?

In this episode of the Black Woman Bliss Podcast, Mercedes sits down with LaKesha "Rolling with Keke" Moore, Senior Event Strategist, accessibility advocate, and founder of Rolling With Keke™. Keke brings over 20 years of experience helping organizations build spaces that are truly inclusive, accessible, and safe for all. She has saved organizations over $260K and served events of over 8,000!

This conversation is all about KeKe about stepping out on faith, building her business based on her Black Woman Brilliance, and learning how to move even when you're scared.

Keke shares what it means to be one of the 600,000 Black women impacted by layoffs and how she is using this season to pivot with purpose, strategy, and heart. We talk about her journey into event strategy, why accessibility is not optional, and how her lived experience as a plus-size Black woman with a disability informs the way she shows up in business, leadership, and life.

During this episode, we're covering:

• Why strategic and accessible event planning is more than logistics
• How Keke became the "unicorn" of event planning
• What it means to build a business after being laid off
• Navigating entrepreneurship as a plus-size Black woman with a disability
• Why accessibility should be centered from the beginning, not added at the end
• How to take action on your dreams before you feel fully ready
• The connection between faith, purpose, business, and Black Woman Brilliance

Connect with LaKesha Moore

LaKesha "Rolling with Keke" Moore is a Senior Event Strategist and founder of Rolling With Keke™. Her work centers accessibility, safety, inclusion, and strategy in event design. She helps organizations create experiences where people are not just invited into the room, but fully considered once they arrive.

Connect with Keke and learn more about Rolling With Keke™.

Website: https://rollingwithkeke.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lakeshamoore-events/

Join the Black Woman Bliss Community

The BWB Community is a safe, powerful space created by and for Black women navigating big goals in career, life, and business. With coaching, training, resources, and sisterhood built in, you don't have to walk this journey alone.

Start your free trial here: https://www.mercedesswan.com/career-and-business-community-for-black-women

1:1 Career & Business Coaching with Mercedes

Ready for more personalized support as you build? Mercedes offers 1:1 career and business coaching for Black women who are ready to move with clarity, confidence, and strategy. Whether you're navigating a career pivot, recovering from a layoff, building a business from your brilliance, or trying to create a life that feels aligned, coaching gives you the space to get clear and take intentional action.

Together, we'll focus on helping you discover your Black Woman Brilliance, clarify your next move, and create a plan that supports your career, business, lifestyle, and long-term vision.

Learn more about 1:1 coaching with Mercedes here: https://www.mercedesswan.com/connect

Subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with a sis who is building something beautiful after a hard season. Your support helps the Black Woman Bliss Podcast reach and empower more Black women.

Transcripts: https://www.mercedesswan.com/blog/what-to-do-after-being-laid-off-black-women-business

For years, I struggled to balance my career and my business. I'm talking no sales, no sleep, toxic jobs, overworking, and no balance, okay? But in this episode of The Black Woman Bliss Podcast, I'm sharing what finally clicked and how I built a business that served me, created consistent revenue, and ultimately helped me leave my 9-5.This is a deep dive episode for the Black women building businesses after work, during lunch breaks, on weekends, and in between everything else. I'm telling the truth about what it looked like to balance my 9-5 and business, including the toxic work environments, overperformance, identity shifts, systems and the business decisions that helped me move toward my exit point.In this episode, we'll cover:🤎 How I went from no sales to consistent sales🤎 Why clarity is one of the biggest foundations in business🤎 The mindset shift that helped me stop moving like only an employee🤎 How toxic jobs can drain the energy you need for your business🤎 How I used routines, habits, and calendaring to stay consistent🤎 Why repeatable services, SOPs, and systems helped me scale🤎 How I knew what to double down on before exiting my 9-5🤎 What a real week looked like when I was working full-time and coaching after hours👑 JOIN THE BLACK WOMAN BLISS COMMUNITYThe Community is a space for Black women ready to create aligned careers, businesses, and lifestyles we love. Inside, you'll get strategy, support, sisterhood, trainings, and community as you step into your Black Woman Bliss Era.https://www.mercedesswan.com/join🤙🏾 SCHEDULE A 1:1 CLARITY AND STRATEGY SESSIONReady to get clear on the business you're building while working your 9-5? Book a Clarity & Strategy Session so we can identify what's working, what's draining you, and the aligned next steps that will help you build with more confidence, structure, and ease.Book your session now: https://hello.mercedesswan.com/shop/8f5a153c-c508-4957-9618-f18677f65f30📊CAREER AND BUSINESS LOVE ASSESSMENTNot sure whether this season needs you to focus on your career, your business, or both? Take the Career and Business Love Assessment to discover where to focus your time and energy next, whether that's advancing your career, building your business, or creating a hybrid strategy that supports your full Black Woman Bliss Era.https://www.mercedesswan.com/quiz✨ WATCH THE BLACK WOMAN BLISS WEBINARIf you're ready to get clear on your career, business, and next chapter, watch the Black Woman Bliss Webinar and start creating your aligned vision.https://www.mercedesswan.com/blissSubscribe, leave a review, and share this with a professional sister in love who is building her business while working her 9-5.Chapters00:00 My Journey to Career Liberation02:47 Mindset Shifts for Black Women Entreprenuers05:54 Identifying Barriers to Business Growth09:09 The Importance of Business Clarity and Focus11:56 Navigating Toxic Work Environments15:07 Setting Boundaries and Priorities17:54 Building a Supportive Business Community21:10 Shifting Your Identity as a Business Owner24:11 Productivity Strategies for Balancing Career and Business29:17 Business Structures and Systems36:12 Optimizing Your Time40:46 Creating Repeatable Business Systems44:31 Doubling Down: Focusing on What Works56:05 Balancing Career and Business: Finding Your PathBLOG: https://www.mercedesswan.com/blog/how-to-build-a-business-while-working-a-9-5

Can one pivot change the way you see work, equity, and your worth?

In this powerful episode, Mercedes sits down with Tishayla Williams to talk about the equity pivot and what it means for Black women navigating today's workplace. As an I/O psychologist and founder of The TW Collective, Tishayla brings a real, unfiltered perspective on performative equity, workplace harm, pay inequity, and the courage it takes to pivot with purpose.

Together, Mercedes and Tishayla explore the hidden cost of ambition, how systems fail Black women, and why creating your own opportunities is often the first step toward liberation. This conversation is honest, validating, and full of the kind of wisdom that reminds you that you are not imagining what you've experienced at work and you are not stuck there either.

During this episode, you'll learn:

• How performative equity shows up when organizations quietly remove their commitments as soon as the political climate shifts
• Why pay inequity is often the foundation of broader workplace inequity for Black women
• How Tishayla's journey from the Army and social work into I/O psychology shaped her lens on policy, compliance, and systems change
• What it looks like to advocate for yourself when a workplace is not designed to protect or value you
• Why Black women must stop waiting for permission and start creating their own opportunities
• How to think about your career pivot, business, or next move as a path toward greater autonomy and alignment

Pivot with Tishayla Williams

Tishayla Williams is an I/O psychologist and the founder of The TW Collective, where she helps organizations build more equitable workplaces and supports Black women in protecting themselves within them. A former social worker and Army veteran, Tishayla uses her voice and expertise to unpack the hidden cost of ambition, examine policy and systems through an equity lens, and help Black women navigate work with more clarity, strategy, and self-advocacy.

Connect with Tishayla on TikTok: Dr. Tishayla WilliamsLearn more about The TW Collective: https://www.thetwcollective.com/thebackboneframework Email The TW Collective: impact@thetwcollective.com

Read Tishayla's Essence Article: "I Walked Away At My Breaking Point. Now I Help Black Women Protect Themselves At Work" https://www.essence.com/news/money-career/redefining-success-after-burnout/

Step Into Your Black Woman Bliss

You deserve a career, business, and life that actually feels aligned. If you're ready to stop settling, make your next pivot with intention, and build something that honors your brilliance, Mercedes has support for you.

✨ Join the Black Woman Bliss Community:
https://www.mercedesswan.com/join

✨ Register for the Black Woman Bliss Blueprint Webinar:
https://www.mercedesswan.com/bliss

✨ Work 1:1 with Mercedes:
https://www.mercedesswan.com/connect

Key takeaway from this episode

As Tishayla reminds us, Black women cannot afford to wait for systems to suddenly become safe, equitable, or affirming. We have to advocate for ourselves, create opportunities when doors do not open, and stay willing to pivot toward the life, work, and freedom we deserve.

Transcript: https://www.mercedesswan.com/blog/equity-pivot-black-women-advocate-performative-workplaces