Cognac Small Talk with Anthony J.R.

Anthony J.R. had his panel series, "It's All Subjective" co-sponsored by Cognac Small Talk. The trade-off is you get to stream the audio from the panel through the podcast platform, so that's exactly what this is. Summary: The narrative for some is that it’s tough to build a community outside of work when you’re attached to a 9 to 5 job. Others have also stated that networking sometimes can be seen as a one-sided conversation: What can you do for me? But what if you’re networking for the intent of building community and what if the community you’re building exists within your 9 to 5 job? Panelists: Anthony Kerr (@thinkgoodthoughts): Founder of The Collective Seattle Angelina Howard (@jadoremarie_): President of BEN w/ Amazon Sage Quiamno (@sageq): Co-Founder of Future For Us Avi Soor (@suitedsoor): Co-Founder of Seattle Gents

Endurance Weke, also noted as the Curator of Cool is a stylist, entrepreneur, blogger and financial analyst from D.C., but currently based in Seattle. He joins Anthony J.R. to reflect on 2019, discuss his styling techniques through social platforms, his Curate styling show, advice to bloggers and so much more.

Anthony J.R. had his panel series, "It's All Subjective" co-sponsored by Cognac Small Talk. The trade-off is you get to stream the audio from the panel through the podcast platform, so that's exactly what this is. Summary: Millennials have slowly started to value their free time a bit more now that they seem to be busier than ever. As some clubs, bars and lounges close and never reopen it forces millennials not to prioritize their weekends in these spaces. For some, they believe they’ve just gotten too old to be in these spaces and would much rather do something else more productive. For others, there are several other factors that play a part in their nightlife attendance. Panelists: Casey Carter (@misscaseycarter): Radio Personality Mikey McClarron (@mcclarron): Curator Lace Cadence (@lacecadence): Artist/ Producer/ DJ Lily Million (@lilymillion): Event Planner & Marketing This panel was sponsored by both ATLAS Workbase & Cognac Small Talk. Video by ZOOM video webinar. The audio version is available on Cognac Small Talk and here.

Zoey (@smilesz0ey) and Sweets (@justsweets) are both fashion designers and the founders of ZoeSweets (@zoesweets), a fashion brand specializing in custom fit clothing, designed for women who struggle finding clothes that fit them properly. The ladies join Anthony J.R. to discuss their process on how they design clothes, owning a business as a woman, fashion style and trends and more.

Anthony J.R. had his panel series, "It's All Subjective" co-sponsored by Cognac Small Talk. The trade-off is you get to stream the audio from the panel through the podcast platform, so that's exactly what this is. Topic: Is Social Media The Modern Day Resume? Summary: In today's day and age, social media has been one of the biggest factors in growing a brand, business and has even gotten many people hired. We update our social media accounts more often than our resume and many creatives and entrepreneurs have said they haven't used their resume in years. Panelists: Mike Garrett (@ayyomikeg): Marketing Manager Ribicca Mamuye (@iamabyssinia): Blogger Victoria Kovios (@visionbykovios): Photographer Endurance Weke (@curatorofcool): Stylist

Mister Martini (@mister_martini) is a streetwear connoisseur from Vancouver, BC, who owns Dipt (@diptvancity), Vancouver's longest-running streetwear and sneaker boutique and also owns Vancity Original (@vancityoriginal), a streetwear brand very popular in the British Columbia area. He joins Anthony J.R. to talk about the evolution of streetwear, starting and building a successful brand within the retail industry, and how today's social media era plays a role in our we view fashion today.

Karen Okonkwo (@karenokonkwo) is a social entrepreneur and also the co-founder of TONL (@tonl), a business focused on diversity within stock photography. She joins Anthony J.R. to talk about life after the launch of TONL, understanding your purpose with your career choice, the evolution of Karen's Thoughts, business strategies surrounding 401ks, and so much more.

Sage Quianmo (@sageq) is a keynote speaker and co-founder of Future For Us (@futureforus.now), a platform dedicated to advancing women of color at work. She joins Anthony J.R. to break down what her company is doing to change the narrative of women represented in the workplace, allyship with men, negotiation strategies, and so much more.

Mike Nasty (@djmikenasty) is a DJ and Producer currently based in NYC. He joins Anthony J.R. and discusses how he launched his career back home in Memphis, issues with Atlanta's creative scene and why his move to NYC has completely changed his life.

Anthony J.R. celebrates two years of doing Cognac Small Talk with a brief message, reflecting on growth, future success and what's to come in the new year.

Nelson Yong is a Brand Director, Entrepreneur, Marketing Strategist and Consultant who has actively helped build brands and companies like Microsoft, Intel, Dell, Aston Martin and Thompson Hotel through strategic marketing and business development. He stopped by the show to clarify what it truly means to have a taste for luxury and style, how to keep big name companies/ clients happy, personalizing your branding in niche markets and more.

Last time, Zea Lingard stopped by the show to inform us on how she manages to pursue other endeavors while maintaining her image as a model for various runaway shows, commercial work, etc. Now she's an entrepreneur and business owner for her brand 'Model Basics' which is a one stop shop for all model needs, to ensure they arrive prepared for their modeling gigs. With this new role, we talk about why she has to put modeling on the side to grow the business, working with Shopify, modeling tips for those entering the industry, the difference between copying and being inspired and more.

Karen Okonkwo & Joshua Kissi recently launched TONL, a company that seeks to transform the idea of stock photography into something more innovative. Through this company, they plan to help diminish stereotypes, share the stories of every day people and prove that diversity matters.

Avi Soor stopped by the show to talk about how the blogging scene is now over saturated and why he's choosing to focus more on consulting and entrepreneurship. As the co-founder of the Seattle Gents, he express his love for menswear and how collaborations with brands & companies have helped grow the fashion scene in Seattle.

Crystal Reed stopped by the show to give her feedback towards Donald Trump's discriminative tweets against the LGBTQ community, the fashion scene in Seattle and how she fits blogging and designing into her busy schedule at The Washington Bus.

Praise stopped by the show to talk about the benefits of living a low key lifestyle. We also touched on consulting in digital marketing, how a sales pitch can be compared to talking to women, sneakers and more.

Leaving any corporate job to follow your dreams sounds exciting but also comes with hardship and self discipline. Andre Jenkins, a former Tax Associate at PWC stops by the show to share tips on how he transitioned from that position to Artist/ Tour Management full time.

The new season of Cognac Small Talk is finally here. Anthony J.R. took time off from the show to learn more about himself and see what truly inspires him as a media personality. He talks about this transition, his love hate relationship with J.Crew and filtering your audience via social media to reduce the noise on the internet.

Every millennial has gone through adversity, whether its financially, socially or mentally, we've gone through hard times that may have delayed meeting personal goals. Luckily the best way to overcome adversity is to first realize that the stress is only temporary. Anthony J.R. opens up about how thinking positively and being proactive helped him overcome his personal hard times during the end of 2016, going into 2017. 

A stereotype is a preconceived notion about a person or group. It's natural but we also should take the time to get to truly understand a person's perspective before that notion. Millennials are judged all the time, from the clothes we wear, to our lifestyle, to even way we think. Xay Zoleil stops by the show to update us on his music, DJing and other creative endeavors while explaining how stereotyping has played a role in his life within a collectivist community.    

Anthony J.R. invites Givon, a recording and visual artist onto the show as they indulge in Martell Cognac and reminisce on the days that people weren't supportive of their endeavors until now. Is it okay to forgive and never forget? Why do people hate you but monitor all the moves you make? These are among the several questions asked during this episode. 

The support money has to our needs and wants plays a role in how we value it. We seek money because of the purchasing power it has to our everyday lives. Anthony J.R. talks about how money has provided flexibility to support a few of his dreams and ideas in the past. 

The act of feeling entitled is having the right to something. We're entitled to the jobs we have, the friends we have and the clothes we wear but what makes people entitled to specific things over others? Entitlement can stem from emotions, social norms and so many other things. Anthony J.R. discusses his opinion on entitlement has shaped his life and how it can play a role in others.

Delayed Gratification is the ability to resist the temptation for an immediate reward and wait for a later reward. People that delay gratification are more successful with their career, relationships, health, finances and so much more. This is an essential part of being able to reach your ultimate goal. Anthony J.R. talks about how delaying his gratification has helped his patience and how it define his work ethic growing up.

Jess2Sick, a hip hop dancer and creative director based in Seattle stops by the show to share how establishing your value as a person can help choose the right people in your life by determining their worth to you and knowing when to collaborate with other creatives. Be sure to follow her on social media at @Jess2sick on Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat.

Anthony J.R. got the change to catch up with Seattle pioneer and hip hop artist, Gifted Gab in her office space as they discuss her music career, women in the industry and the '90s hip hop era.

Quality should be a priority, no matter what. Our generation currently is fast-paced with all of the social media outlets and multiple ways of sharing content. This can make the creative process lack quality if creatives don't focus enough time and energy into the product itself. Anthony J.R. explains his perspective of how we value the "Quality over Quantity" phrase collectively.

Anthony J.R. briefly uses this time to thank all those that contributed to the podcast. He also shares new updates and changes coming to the show.  

Models sometimes are not given enough credit for the time and effort they put into their craft. Seattle Fashion Week earlier this year launched a campaign called, “I AM MODEL” which highlighted models that are not just pretty faces on the runway, they can be entrepreneurs, business owners and so much more. Zea Lingard, a Vancouver BC fashion model stopped by the show to tell us about her career both, in and outside of modeling, explained her definition of an “Instagram model”, and more.

We all have one ultimate goal, but it usually takes being invested in several endeavors to reach that goal. The free time that you do have, you're using to build relationships with others to help potentially get you closer to that goal but other times you start to realize that you wasted your time. Tenoa Spencer, a dancer, choreographer and creative director based in Seattle, stops by the studio to share his story and process on how he remains focused while being involved in so many things. Be sure to follow him on social media: Snapchat: @Tenoa; Instagram: @Trockspencer & Twitter: @TenoaRKspencer

Often we are told that opinions don't really matter. But at the same time, opinions hold more weight than actual facts. This depends on who the opinion is coming from and how much you value their opinion. Anthony J.R. explains his perspective on the only opinions that matter to him.

Traveling offers many learning experiences that people may not realize.  It helps with appreciating the small things in life like making new relationships and growing internally as a person. Anthony J.R. gives shares personal stories about how traveling has changed his life and also how to save money while doing so. 

As we grow as entrepreneurs, it sometimes gets harder to determine who our real friends are. Our friends do a lot of things that don't make sense to us sometimes but still are there for us in our time of need. There's individuals that prefer to have no friends and all associates in their life. Anthony explains the importance of having a good circle of friends in your life to help keep you sane throughout all your lifetime.  

There's people that tend to not get in a relationship because it slows them down from reaching career goals and there's others that feel like having a significant other helps reach goals because you have a go to supporter for all your needs. Natalie came by, had a drink and shared her story about how getting out of her most recent relationship has actually prepared her for a new beginning in her career.

Cognac Small Talk hosted its first live stream event alongside @MissYamiMami and her inaugural podcast "YaaaamzAndFriendz" in Atlanta, GA. Our guests came dressed nice in cocktail/ cosmopolitan attire for a night of networking, food, drinks and good vibes. J & J Bourbon Bar and Grill curated special cognac cocktails for all the guests. This is the live recording of the event where both Anthony J.R. and Yami discussed topics ranging from branding to the woman's role in the creative world.  

Pretty sure that a lot of people have heard the phrase, "You have the same 24 hours as Beyonce". She's human just like everyone else. The only difference between her and some of us is that she knows how to utilize her 24 hours effectively, and so does every other successful person. Anthony J.R. breaks down the importance of using every single available hour to make things happen like the other moguls we may look up to. He also addresses his point of view of the #BlackLivesMatter movement that has been currently active over the past couple of weeks.

When you worry too much, you miss out on the present. You miss out on the time you could using to focus on important things life has to offer. With worrying comes anxiety and stress: two things that don't attribute in anyway to promote career growth. In order to move forward, we must accept the uncertain and we hopeful for our future. 

The term original means being the first or the earliest iteration of an idea or concept. In today’s society, we use this term a little more loosely and say it’s all about your personalized style of delivering content in your respective industry. We take ideas from numerous things around us to produce content but does that mean we are not so much of being original and more so of being inspired or influenced. Anthony explains why he’s sometimes confused about the originality concept.

When we come up with an idea, we tend to make excuses when it comes down to executing. Other people say they don't capitalize on an idea because the opportunity doesn't exist. Anthony shares why it's so important to capitalize on an idea and how it can improve your overall mindset.

A collaboration between two or more people is one of the best ways to grow a brand or business. Anthony explains why you should only collaborate with people who understand your brand and purpose and not just someone who wants to be involved. During this episode, he also answers a few questions from people who relate to this topic and gives the best advice on how to avoid ruining a relationship with a peer.

Anthony J.R. went to LA for the first time and was so inspired by the people he ran into. Subtle conversations about goals, ideas and entrepreneurship. While on vacation, he realized that there's a lot of misconceptions associated with the area and that in order for him to fully become the creative he wants to be, he has to learn to accept failure.

Recently, Anthony traveled to Vancouver to potentially work with a company. After exchanging emails, he discovered that although their schedules didn't permit to work at the moment, he still writes pretty good emails. During this episode, he explains a few things to remember when reaching out to someone via email. 

Kiana Nelson is a woman of many hats in the entertainment industry. From on-camera talent to aspiring media mogul, she has done a number of things in her career simply from just speaking things into existence. She joins Anthony J.R. on the show as they reminisce about meeting for the first time, actions that led to positive outcomes in their life and how the Law of Attraction really works.

Kennyatta is an entrepreneur who focuses development towards brands and business campaigns. Alongside development, he takes on photography for advertisement campaigns and the likes. Minimalism through design, development and technology is continuing to grow in the industry. This episode grows into topics focused on business innovation and how social media has helped shaped the culture for the better.

Neia Omer is active trailblazer in today's culture who is all for women's empowerment and education. She stops by the share her experience with working with women across the country to make a change in the community, help provide better education to the school systems and why women should deserve the same amount of praise as men do in society.

Strictly for the Gents is an episode for the guys trying to step up their menswear presence. Cornelius Smith is the brand director of Gentlemen’s Table, a design and style platform for the modern gentleman. Anthony J.R. brings a bottle of cognac to the GT headquarters to discuss what aspirations led to Cornelius starting the menswear brand, tips on how to wear your suit properly, fashion vs style and which style icons are currently killing it in the fashion industry. Ladies can also learn from this episode to know what to look for in a gentleman. 

PHNK is an artist from Miami but currently based in Seattle where he works full time with Anthony at Microsoft. "Before The Weekend" the two are both focused on executing ideas with their teams but don't plan on working fully time forever so they can do their creative things on the side. The two talk about being fearless, Anthony being introduced to cloud rap music and tells the story how he was first given a bottle of cognac when he came to Seattle.

“Unheard Talent” is an upcoming project by Kris Jae scheduled to release sometime in winter of 2016. Anthony J.R. catches up with him over the phone as they discuss what “Unheard Talent” represents towards the project and figuratively speaking in the music industry. They also talk about relationships with women, staying close to God and staying true to yourself. Anthony J.R. streams two records from the project during this episode as well.

On this episode Anthony discusses the importance of having a hungry for success and the mistakes he's made when following through with it. People move at their own pace but you should never hold yourself accountable for them not reach their potential.

We are judged too many times off face value. Comments can be positive or negative but we never really know somebody until we understand their story. Daikeen is our first guest on this show who elaborates on his daily lifestyle in Macon, Georgia, the struggles he had growing up and how he literally worked hard for every single thing he owns. 

Instead of going the cliché route and reiterating facts business creatives view all the time in articles, Anthony gives us his two cents on building a brand and why other people may treat you differently when doing so. The title of this episode has two meanings.