Marsha Badger

I attribute my success to two main things. First, my ambition - I'm very ambitious to a fault. I'm learning what success looks like without attaching it to my worth, understanding that the more I achieve doesn't make me more worthy because I'm already worthy. But that ambition is a driving force. Second, and equally important, is community and relationships. I don't believe I was created to work for people - I want to work with people. That means building really solid relationships, and those relationships are what help me build success. I really believe in community. None of us can do this alone. We literally need each other, and so community is a big factor in everything I've accomplished.

Always advocate for yourself. If you don't, people will give you what they think you're worth, and only you should determine that.

I would look at myself when I was entering this industry and how hungry and determined I was, so much so that I would over-give. That type of drive and passion is important, but it's also important to know when too much is too much. You don't have to do the most, you don't have to do it at your own expense. You don't have to do it in a way that you have no return from what you're giving out. Just make sure that everything is reciprocal. It is a relationship - you have to give, you have to receive. And if you're in a position where you're giving so much of yourself and you're not receiving anything in return, you're in the wrong place. That's a lesson I had to learn the hard way, because I would do a lot of things just to be in the room, and I had to realize that I'm in the room because I got myself there, and I don't have to overperform for it. I can just be myself, and that is enough.

The biggest challenge right now is that there's not enough capital for Black entrepreneurs. Honestly, with everything I do, I do not receive much money from it. I am a creative with a dream and ambition, and I'm hopeful that things shift in my favor, but the challenge is that we're in a market right now where everyone is trying to create something for themselves to sustain themselves, and so it's oversaturated. From freelancing to funding, it's really a time where I'm turning 15 cents into two dollars, and I don't know how I'm doing it. Literally, it is the universe having my back, because the money is not flowing the way I would need it to.

The values most important to me are integrity, authenticity, and grace. Integrity is super important to me in my life and my brand, because I could look at the last year and a half and probably be making more money if I decided to do things that didn't align with who I am. For the sake of a check, especially in this economy with the unemployment market so saturated with Black women, making money is a necessity. But integrity has me sticking to doing things that are only aligned, doing things that only resonate with myself. I believe in authenticity - being truly myself - because I want to attract the people who can identify with me, and I don't want to perform and be anything else for the sake of followers or money. Integrity and authenticity are really two huge pillars, because that's how you attract a very authentic audience. And then grace - grace for yourself and grace for other people. We are in a space where everyone is going through something, everyone is experiencing something, and we can benefit from leading with grace instead of judgment. Those are the three things I'm very passionate about, and I want my brand to exude that.