Rich Lessons

Sevetri Wilson and Sheena Allen
  • 5.0 (33)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Weekly

The Rich Lessons Podcast, hosted by Sevetri and Sheena, cuts through the noise with rich insights and real conversations about business, life, and everything in between—offering hard truths, valuable lessons, and stories still being written.

  1. 5d ago

    She’s Building Bridges: Protecting the Culture and Expanding Zydeco | Gabrielle Deculus

    A lot of people don't know that. They hear the accordion and the washboard and picture a little short white man on a stage somewhere. Gabrielle Deculus has been correcting that assumption her whole career — and she's got the receipts, because her great-grandfather is Alphonse "Bois Sec" Ardoin, one of the first Black musicians ever recorded in the South and one of the people who shaped Creole and zydeco into what we know today.Now she runs the NOLA Zydeco Fest, and she's building the next chapter of what her family started.We got the whole history lesson. What Creole actually means (hint: not a seasoning, not a complexion). Why not every Creole is Cajun but every Cajun is Creole. How the washboard came into it and why that part isn't Cajun at all. And why there's a zydeco club in Japan but folks in Louisiana still think it's white people music.But Gabbi isn't just a culture keeper — she's a businesswoman. She runs St. Josephine, her consulting firm. She's worked on productions connected to Live Nation, Beyoncé and Kanye West. She built Business Rules for Women into a community of 200,000+. She chaired Step Up Louisiana when they got New Orleans city workers to a $15 minimum wage. And she just started AI for Lunch after walking into an AI training and realizing — again — she was the only Black woman in the room.So we got into the money too. What festivals actually cost. Why everybody's suddenly mad about paying for them. Why sponsors are harder this year. And the rule she lives by: never put up money you ain't willing to lose.🎃 NOLA ZYDECO FEST is October 31 + November 1 at Heritage Park in Slidell. Kids are free. Go get your tickets 👇🏾https://nolazydecofest.com━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━WHAT WE GET INTO▸ "Not every Creole is Cajun, but every Cajun is Creole"▸ What Creole actually means — and what people get wrong about it▸ Her great-grandfather Alphonse "Bois Sec" Ardoin and the first Black recordings in the South▸ Why the washboard isn't Cajun — and who brought it in▸ How zydeco got labeled white people music▸ Why outsiders became the face of a music that isn't theirs▸ The zydeco club in Japan nobody talks about▸ Who people expect to see running a zydeco festival▸ Year 1 vs Year 6 of NOLA Zydeco Fest▸ What event production actually costs — and why faith is in the budget▸ "I try not to put up money I ain't willing to lose"▸ Why everybody's complaining about paying for festivals now▸ Studying abroad in Seoul and realizing she could do anything▸ "I never went and sought out a job. I am the job."▸ Building Business Rules for Women — and what's coming in 2027▸ Walking into an AI training as the only Black woman in the room▸ Data centers, Cancer Alley, and the catch-22 nobody wants to name▸ Rest is resistance — and the 1 AM texts Sheena needs to stop sending▸ Her rich lesson: keep evolving━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━FOLLOW GABRIELLENOLA Zydeco Fest: https://nolazydecofest.comInstagram: @nolazydecofestivalSt. Josephine | Business Rules for Women | AI for Lunch━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━RICH LESSONS PODCASTHosted by Sevetri Wilson Taylor and Sheena Allen🎧 LISTEN & SUBSCRIBEApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rich-lessons/id1787798124Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/40jGSUvVrMbxKcJ1ghE8kl▶️ WATCH & SUBSCRIBE ON YOUTUBEhttps://www.youtube.com/@richlessonspodcast📲 FOLLOW RICH LESSONSInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/richlessonspodcastTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@richlessonspodcast

  2. Oct 2

    Savannah James’ First-Class Debate, Food Recalls & What’s Actually Worth the Money

    Should your wealthy best friend pay for you to fly first class? This week on Rich Takes, Sheena Allen and Sevetri Wilson Taylor jump into the viral debate surrounding Savannah James and April McDaniel traveling in different classes on an international flight. If you have the money, should your best friend be sitting in first class with you, or is no one entitled to someone else’s wealth? That opens up a bigger conversation about friendship, money, the difference between being rich and being wealthy, and what generosity looks like when the financial gap between friends is huge. Then, Sheena and Sevetri talk about the growing number of food recalls and the question many consumers are asking: what is actually safe to eat? Plus, they take on the viral “worth the money” debate. From first-class flights and comfortable shoes to DoorDash, house managers, childcare, personal chefs, trainers, travel, and executive assistants, what purchases genuinely make life better—and which luxuries are actually worth paying for? Rich Takes is the weekly hot-takes series from Rich Lessons, where Sheena and Sevetri break down the trending conversations in money, business, culture, lifestyle, and everything people are debating online. New Rich Takes every Thursday on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. --- Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rich-lessons/id1787798124 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/40jGSUvVrMbxKcJ1ghE8kl?si=9666ca84559c4e16 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@richlessonspodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/richlessonspodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@richlessonspodcast

  3. Sep 22

    8 Business Lessons We Learned the Hard Way

    If you're building something right now, this is the episode we wish we had when we started.Between the two of us we've bootstrapped, raised millions, run venture-backed companies, and started all over again. And every single one of those seasons came with a lesson we had to learn the hard way.So we sat down and went through them. The real ones.Whether you can actually protect your peace while you're launching (one of us thinks soft life is a lie). How to take a no without taking it personally, and why you should never screenshot an investor's rejection and post it. The email that turned a no into a yes in two hours. Why money just helps you make mistakes faster if you don't know how to use it. Why people buy outcomes, not features. And the call Sevetri will never reschedule.Whether you're running a startup, a restaurant, a service business, or you're still figuring out the idea, this one applies to you.Tell us which lesson hit the hardest 👇🏾━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━WHAT WE GET INTO▸ Protecting your greatest asset: you▸ Is soft life actually possible when you're launching?▸ Why Sevetri doesn't do 3 AM calls anymore (and Sheena still does)▸ Taking a no personally vs professionally▸ The founder "anti-list" — yes, we remember every no▸ The email that turned an investor's no into a yes in two hours▸ Please don't screenshot your investor rejection on LinkedIn▸ "$500K is a lot of money… until you raise it"▸ The art of the follow-up (even when you don't need anything)▸ Cash is oxygen — and why capital helps you make mistakes faster▸ People buy outcomes, not features▸ Delegation, firing fast, and why the CEO role changes every year▸ Mentors vs sponsors — and the no-show that ended it before it started▸ Hiring for your weakness until it becomes your superpower━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODEOur episode with Deb Grant: https://youtu.be/myAw1Xy6kJE━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━RICH LESSONS PODCASTHosted by Sevetri Wilson Taylor and Sheena Allen🎧 LISTEN & SUBSCRIBEApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/40jGSUv...▶️ WATCH & SUBSCRIBE ON YOUTUBEhttps://www.youtube.com/@richlessonsp...📲 FOLLOW RICH LESSONSInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/richlessons...TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@richlessonspo...━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━#RichLessons #EntrepreneurLessons #StartupAdvice #FounderLessons #Entrepreneurship #Fundraising #SmallBusiness #WomenFounders #Networking #Mentorship #BusinessPodcast #FounderMindset #CEOLife

  4. Sep 21

    Are We in a Recession? Atlanta Evictions Surge & the “$5,000 Check” Warning | Rich Takes

    Are we in a recession, or are the warning signs already showing up in everyday life? In this episode of Rich Takes, Sheena Allen and Sevetri Wilson Taylor break down the economic headlines raising some serious questions about where things are headed. First up: Atlanta’s surge in evictions. With eviction filings climbing and Black renters disproportionately affected, Sheena and Sevetri discuss whether rising evictions, credit card debt, job losses, housing costs, and financial pressure are signs of deeper cracks in the U.S. economy, especially for the middle class and Black households. Then, the conversation turns to Washington: Should elected officials be allowed to actively trade investments while in office? The hosts react to recent headlines surrounding Donald Trump’s securities trading activity and the broader, long-running debate over members of Congress trading while having access to information and decisions that can move markets. And what about that “$5,000 check”? Sheena and Sevetri discuss the proposal, why consumers shouldn’t count on money that hasn’t materialized, and what economic promises can look like when households are already feeling squeezed. From Atlanta’s eviction crisis and recession warning signs to debt, the disappearing middle class, political stock trading, and the proposed $5,000 checks, this week’s Rich Takes asks a bigger question: What is the economy actually telling us right now? —— Rich Takes is the hot-takes mini-series from Rich Lessons, where Sheena Allen and Sevetri Wilson Taylor unpack the headlines everyone is talking about across money, business, entrepreneurship, technology, culture, entertainment, lifestyle, and politics. —— Follow Rich Lessons on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube for more conversations and clips. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rich-lessons/id1787798124 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/40jGSUvVrMbxKcJ1ghE8kl?si=9666ca84559c4e16 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@richlessonspodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/richlessonspodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@richlessonspodcast

  5. Sep 15

    She Built a $800 Million Agency From Her Closet

    Carrita Cloud is the founder and CEO of Creativity Justified, the agency behind work for the NFL, Microsoft, Delta, Ochsner Health, the Saints and the Pelicans. Inc. named her to the 2025 Female Founders 500. Her team has managed over $800 million in advertising dollars.She started it in a closet. Seven months pregnant, just fired, insurance gone, cold calling and cold emailing people who mostly said no.We got into all of it — the systems she built when it was still just her, how she actually got in the room with the NFL, and what COVID did to her retainers when it was still a small business agency.But the part that stopped us cold was the pricing story. She bid $25,000 on a contract. Another Black woman on the other side called her and said if I submit this, they'll think you're a joke. The lowest competing bid was $125,000.If you've ever wondered whether you're charging enough, this one is for you 🎧━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━WHAT WE GET INTO▸ Getting fired at 7 months pregnant and starting over the next morning▸ The department emails she made up when it was still only her▸ Why you need degrees of separation between you and your clients▸ Building 100+ email templates before hiring anybody▸ "We invite people into our chaos, then get mad when they fail in chaos"▸ Why most people's VA experience goes wrong▸ How she actually got to $800 million in managed ad spend▸ Pitching the NFL on a webinar — and it going all the way to Roger Goodell▸ What COVID did to her retainers, and the pivot that saved the agency▸ The $25K bid vs the $125K bid▸ Why she took pricing off her website▸ Advice for anyone leaving corporate right now▸ "I love my family too much to ever hire them"▸ Niceness vs kindness, and why her team is not a family▸ The two hires she'd make again every single time▸ How to actually get in front of Fortune 500 clients▸ Her rich lesson: the money conversation nobody has with new founders━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━FOLLOW CARRITA CLOUDCreativity Justified━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━RICH LESSONS PODCASTHosted by Sevetri Wilson Taylor and Sheena Allen🎧 LISTEN & SUBSCRIBEApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/40jGSUv...▶️ WATCH & SUBSCRIBE ON YOUTUBE   / @richlessonspodcast  📲 FOLLOW RICH LESSONSInstagram:   / richlessonspodcast  TikTok:   / richlessonspodcast  ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━#RichLessons #BlackWomenInBusiness #AgencyLife #Pricing #KnowYourWorth #Entrepreneurship #MarketingAgency #BlackEntrepreneurs #WomenFounders #SmallBusiness #BusinessSystems #NFL #BusinessPodcast #FounderStory #Fortune500

  6. Sep 8

    How to Hire When You Have No Money | Rich Lessons

    Everybody wants to tell you about scaling and Series A. Nobody sits down and says, "Here's what it actually costs to get one person helping you when you have almost nothing." So that's what this one is. Between the two of us, we've done it every way there is — freelancers, contractors, offshore, W-2, fractional, all of it. Some of it worked. Some of it cost us money we didn't have. We're giving you real numbers. Real mistakes. The rules we follow now because we learned them the hard way. Sheena tells the story about the freelancer who had one of HER OWN apps sitting in their portfolio. That one still gets us. We also got into whether your first hire can just be an AI agent in 2026, and we don't fully agree on it. Let us know where you land. If you're building with a small budget right now, this one's for you.  WHAT WE GET INTO▸ Where we actually find freelancers, and which sites we prefer▸ Offshoring vs outsourcing — people use these wrong all the time▸ The 3 AM problem nobody warns you about with offshore work▸ Why we don't fully trust 5-star ratings anymore▸ How to vet a portfolio (including reaching out to their past clients cold)▸ The freelancer who had Sheena's own app in their portfolio▸ Milestones, escrow, and the upfront payment rule that saves people thousands▸ Real numbers: what engineers and designers cost right now, here and offshore▸ Why 2021 was the wildest hiring year either of us has seen▸ When fractional work makes sense — and when it doesn't▸ How much runway you need before you make a real hire▸ What a W-2 employee actually costs (it's not the salary)▸ Can your first hire be an AI agent? We go back and forth on this one▸ Why the moat isn't tech anymore▸ Our richest lessons: fire fast, and the order you hire in matters ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ RICH LESSONS PODCASTHosted by Sevetri Wilson Taylor and Sheena Allen LISTEN & SUBSCRIBE Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rich-lessons/id1787798124 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/40jGSUvVrMbxKcJ1ghE8kl WATCH & SUBSCRIBE ON YOUTUBE https://www.youtube.com/@richlessonspodcast FOLLOW RICH LESSONS Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/richlessonspodcast TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@richlessonspodcast ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ #RichLessons #HiringOnABudget #Freelancers #Upwork #Offshoring #StartupAdvice #Entrepreneurship #SmallBusiness #Bootstrapping #FounderMindset #WomenInBusiness #BusinessPodcast #FractionalWork

  7. Sep 3

    Why Strong Women Don't Take Breaks (And Why That's Killing Us)

    Dr. Alicia Reed is a pharmacist. She spent 20 years telling other people how to take care of their health. Then her husband died of a massive heart attack at 43, four days before Christmas — and she became a widow overnight at 40, with a four-year-old.Then the pandemic hit. She was on the frontline as a healthcare provider while her own blood pressure was dangerously out of control.It took her son asking "Mommy, are you going to die too?" for her to actually stop.We talked about all of it. Grief, burnout, food, the health stuff nobody's checking on, and the generational curse that says strong women don't get to rest. She also learned how to swim at 46 — in six days — and that story alone is worth the watch.If you're the person everybody depends on, this one is for you.WHAT WE GET INTO▸ Who NOLA Bougie was, and how she became Dr. Reed▸ Losing her husband four days before Christmas▸ Grieving in public while raising a grieving four-year-old▸ Why rest got turned into something you have to earn▸ How burnout actually shows up — inflammation, autoimmune flares, blood pressure▸ "Who takes care of the person everyone else depends on?"▸ Why she says it's women, not men, skipping the doctor▸ Two stories about what happens when you wait too long to get checked▸ Food as medicine: reading labels, the ginger ale that shocked us, and what to actually look for▸ Eating well when you live in a food desert▸ The health insurance benefits you're paying for and never using▸ The health trend that worries her most right now▸ Learning to swim at 46 after being thrown in as a child▸ Rapid fire: time vs energy, boundaries vs discipline, and which is harder — success or healingFOLLOW DR. ALICIA REED - https://www.instagram.com/DrAlishaReed/Your Self-Care Prescription LLCFly Widow Podcasthttps://open.spotify.com/show/536vGTR2zWrh17VcUtX5JIRICH LESSONS PODCASTHosted by Sevetri Wilson Taylor and Sheena Allen🎧 LISTEN & SUBSCRIBEApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rich-lessons/id1787798124Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/40jGSUvVrMbxKcJ1ghE8kl▶️ WATCH & SUBSCRIBE ON YOUTUBEhttps://www.youtube.com/@RichLessonsPodcast📲 FOLLOW RICH LESSONSInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/richlessonspodcastTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@richlessonspodcast━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━#RichLessons #BlackWomensHealth #HeartHealth #SelfCare #Burnout #BlackWomenPodcast #Grief #Widowhood #FoodIsMedicine #WomensHealth #Pharmacist #HighBloodPressure #BlackWomenInBusiness #Wellness #PreventativeHealth

  8. Aug 27

    RIP Dolly Parton, Gary Indiana's Power Crisis & the Surrogate Suing for Custody | Rich Takes

    Dolly Parton is gone, Gary, Indiana has been without power for weeks, and New York City is trying to fight rising grocery prices with city-run supermarkets. Meanwhile, a controversial surrogacy case has turned into a legal and cultural battle over parental rights, abortion, and who gets to make medical decisions for a child. Sheena Allen and Sevetri Wilson Taylor break down the biggest stories in business, culture, politics, and society—from Dolly Parton’s complicated legacy and the power grid crisis to the fight over NYC’s grocery stores and the viral surrogate custody case making headlines. In this episode:• Dolly Parton’s death, philanthropy, and her legendary responses to Whitney Houston and Beyoncé covering her music• Why Gary, Indiana went weeks without power—and why so few people were talking about it• Memphis’ massive power outage and questions about America’s aging power grid• New York City’s plan for city-run grocery stores with lower prices• Why bodega owners are fighting the plan• The bizarre and controversial surrogacy case involving a seriously ill baby• The growing debate over surrogacy, parental rights, and reproductive politics ---- Subscribe to Rich Takes on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and leave us a review if you enjoyed the episode. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rich-lessons/id1787798124 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/40jGSUvVrMbxKcJ1ghE8kl?si=9666ca84559c4e16 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@richlessonspodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/richlessonspodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@richlessonspodcast

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About

The Rich Lessons Podcast, hosted by Sevetri and Sheena, cuts through the noise with rich insights and real conversations about business, life, and everything in between—offering hard truths, valuable lessons, and stories still being written.

Information

  • Creator
    Sevetri Wilson and Sheena Allen
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    88
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Sevetri Wilson and Sheena Allen
  • Show Website
    Rich Lessons

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