Tanisha Colon-Bibb: From Harlem to Africa: How This PR Boss Built a 2-Continent Empire: My Friends Are Better Than Yours

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BIG CED sits down with Tanisha Colon-Bibb, a Harlem native who went from an intern at The Source Magazine to running PR and talent management companies across two continents. This conversation covers everything from navigating rejection as a publicist to building businesses with "delusional confidence" to the cultural differences between doing business in New York vs. South Africa.  Tanisha shares the exact moment she realized she could run her own agency, the audacious networking tactic that landed her friend a Michelin-starred restaurant client, and why being featured in print for the first time hit different after 13 years of getting other people press.  If you're an entrepreneur, creative, or anyone building something from scratch, this episode is packed with real talk and actionable advice.  🎯 TIMESTAMPS:  0:00 - Intro: "My Friends Are Better Than Yours" 1:04 - The Source Magazine Days & Harlem Connection 2:32 - Lennox Terrace Neighbors Reveal 4:54 - Eve the Rapper Lived Downstairs?! 5:39 - Dame Dash, Cam'ron & Jim Jones Drama 6:28 - Why Hip-Hop Was Inevitable 8:00 - From Fashion Intern to PR Boss 9:48 - Starting a PR Company with No Experience 11:06 - The Move to South Africa (Love Story Alert) 13:00 - Building Businesses Across Two Continents 13:45 - The Moment She Started Rebelle Agency 15:02 - Working with The Lip Bar & Black-Owned Brands 15:15 - 2018 Burnout & Career Pivot 15:45 - Tracy G & The Birth of Rebelle Management 17:03 - Why Publicists Need Better PR 17:21 - Handling Rejection as a Publicist 19:12 - The Strategy Behind Great PR 20:39 - Building Editor Relationships vs. Mass Emails 22:32 - When Friendship Meets Business 23:50 - Getting Featured in Glamour South Africa 25:00 - First Time in Print: "Is This How You Feel?" 27:02 - New York Aggression vs. South African Humility 28:11 - The Uber Driver Greeting Incident 30:20 - Being a Black Woman Business Owner 32:21 - "I Can Be All Things, But Not All at the Same Time" 33:29 - The Afro-Latina Experience 35:04 - Full-Time Help & Work-Life Balance in SA 36:08 - Starting a Business with "Delusional Confidence" 36:22 - "I Could Run This Company Better" 38:10 - When Your Brother Becomes Your First Investor 40:36 - Future Plans: Africa, UK & The Diaspora 42:04 - Reigniting The PR Agency in 2026 42:46 - How PR Has Changed Since 2012 44:33 - Doing What Makes YOU Happy 45:13 - "You Have All the Resources to Make the Life You Want" 48:36 - BE AUDACIOUS: The Michelin Restaurant Story 49:30 - Asking the Universe for What You Want 50:01 - How to Reach Tanisha 51:04 - South Africa Travel Tips 52:50 - Outro: My Friends Are Better Than Yours  ---

Transcript

00:00what's good back at it the amazing big said the ABC is back at it I just I just I'm about to say

00:20I just made that up but I didn't but anyway for those but those tuning in for the first time my

00:27name is big said the industry co-sign I've been doing things like this for a number of years and

00:33this particular platform my friends are better than yours the reason I do this is because I have

00:38some pretty dope friends and I'm used to talking to you know business people celebrities you know

00:44I'm sick of all of them but if I'm going to spend my time with people I want to spend time with people

00:50that I feel that if you don't know you need to know and today that's not the case now I'm just

00:56joking oh I apologize um I'm gonna start off like Tanisha used to be an intern when I was at the

01:09source and I don't think I've seen her since and that was about 94 years ago so but briefly um I've

01:19been watching her like you know LinkedIn and on Instagram and seeing that she's been doing a lot

01:24of good things and we we we've worked together in the past you know briefly and I just felt like

01:31she was one of the people that I feel that you should know and I'm gonna allow her to give a

01:37little brief intro because y'all know me I'm gonna do whatever I want and not remember what I did

01:41and I'll just let her start off so that way we can start the show as they say good morning well good

01:48evening Tanisha where you're where you're at and good evening yes it is almost 4 45 p.m here

01:56am I good am I clear yeah you're clear okay I don't know how do I introduce myself first of all you

02:03just took me back interned for source oh my god that feels like and that was such a oh my god I emailed

02:14my way into that I definitely like found that internship I was not given or I didn't apply or

02:20anything I think I definitely like bulldozed my way into that wow that was that was a long time ago

02:27that's crazy um who am I I am a native of Harlem I'm very proud of Harlem New York right now because

02:37Rocky just won um most stylish or whatever the CFTAs and Tiana Tiana was hosting the CFTAs and to me

02:48I'm like hosting and winning and these are my people that you know we all grew up on Linux and

02:56the east side and all this other stuff but I I so I'm very proud of mine today and you just um

03:02interviewed recently another Harlem legend so actually I don't know if I remembered back

03:09then because I lived in Harlem and um Lenox Terrace I'm from Lenox Terrace you are lying

03:16building 40 I was um which one I was on 5th Avenue on um 12185

03:24are you on 40 no 2185 is 5th Avenue across from the product from Lincoln I meant to say 132nd

03:31off 5th Avenue oh so 45 yeah so my bad my bad wow I grew up in 40 I don't think I knew that

03:40because that definitely would have been a discussion like 90 years ago that had great and I had just

03:45moved I had I live in Georgie City now but I had just moved to Georgie City while I was at the

03:50source so I was literally leaving all of maybe that's what it was maybe I had a bad taste in my

03:54mouth and I just didn't want to discuss it I don't know but I I can't believe that Lenox Terrace I

03:59don't understand it's like nine years well my whole life I mean my my family still has an

04:04apartment like we like Lenox Terrace is the the cornerstone of my childhood for sure my life

04:13for sure so yeah so I'm a Harlem native I'm a a serial business owner entrepreneur I am a lover of

04:22music and peaceful moments on my couch I love to travel I love to write and I'm a proud mother

04:35of a three-year-old toddler boy who keeps me very busy and who we might hear from in this interview

04:43um I am a friend and sister and daughter and all those amazing things that's good to know

04:55um it's like I'm still like bugging but the Harlem um you know did you know um Eve the rapper used to

05:05live under me for like a couple of months that is and my cousin Brie Reese Gillard who was on

05:12America's Next Top Model yeah is Rough Rider family and Eve was rough so I was like in that a little

05:21bit through Brie shout out to Brie we could go an hour about that's what I'm saying Harlem deserves

05:28more respect guys we are purveyors of culture in so many ways again we could spend an hour on it but

05:35respect Harlem even through gentrification respect Harlem actually while we're on the topic of Harlem

05:42because it just came to mind what do you feel about the Dame Dash Cam and Jim Jones and all that

05:47they literally were all in that area so it's like just funny just years later and seeing all of this

05:54and um yeah I'm just you know like we don't have to talk about it but I'm just like I said

05:59I'm Dipset I'm a Dipset chick for life let's start there but um I don't know Dame I have my

06:08my own I will reserve my opinion yeah I came up with Dame and um we've worked together so um yeah um

06:19yeah yeah yeah yeah but this is about you I don't care about anybody else in Harlem right now it's

06:25about Tanisha so being that um you you you're an intern at the source so obviously the Harlem

06:34connection and hip-hop and then um what I know it's kind of a stupid question because growing up in

06:42Harlem you have another choice but to be around hip-hop but what drew you to hip-hop in the case

06:48where you did want to intern at the source um before your career you know shot up and like you

06:56know took off wow well I'm the I'm the baby I'm I'm the fourth child of uh two brothers and one sister

07:05so I very much grew up with entertainment and hip-hop in my home I thought I was the third

07:13member of cross when I was young I have like photos and videos like I really I was there all my shit

07:20backwards I can curse right yeah I used to have cornrows and braids like yeah exactly um so it was

07:33inevitable that I loved music and that obviously I had um influences from my parents so a lot of

07:38Motown a lot of like old school R&B um like real rhythm and blues and then um new influences with my

07:47brothers and my sister who were listening to hip-hop in the 90s and early 2000s but um at the source

07:54I actually interned in the fashion department yeah I mean you you started with me and left I think if

08:01I'm correct if I if I remember because of course I was I was the online editor at the time and oh but

08:07then I went over to fashion with oh he's gonna kill me you left because like I guess what for whatever

08:13reason but you want to you want to say fashion but you know I won't take it personal but nah

08:17but maybe that's what it was because you you were you were um because the funny thing is

08:23like I had about 90 interns so um but but few stood out and you were one of the ones that stood out so

08:30that's why like I said I saw you on LinkedIn and we reconnected I'm like okay so she's doing her

08:35thing but I said to myself I'm like um I don't exactly remember now you just reminded me like you

08:41did you you did work within fashion did you work for what was it William no I can't remember who

08:46whoever it was but his name started with an R or something I I hate that I forgot it it'll it'll

08:53come to me because it might have been William though but it'll come to you yeah yeah exactly

08:58but um so I asked that question specifically because now you're doing PR and I know that even

09:06with me because anybody that comes into the entertainment industry in whatever capacity

09:1190 percent of the times it's not doing what they thought they would be doing or what they started

09:17doing because me even as a writer I I've never took a journalism class as a matter of fact I think

09:22my editors think that I'm the worst writer that black enterprises ever come across but I I I and I've

09:28made my career out of writing which is still bananas because I started off like you know I grew up in

09:34the Bronx so hip-hop was everything for me but um that's why I was asking about the the the

09:39sort internship because of course you weren't doing PR back then because you wouldn't have been working

09:44with me you know unless it was a writing thing but what led you to your career choice and um how did

09:52we get here yeah it was definitely a writing thing so I was an English major in college Spelman

09:57shout out Spelman College and um I really thought I was going to be a writer uh I wasn't I'm still in love

10:05with writing and I found my way of writing through public relations obviously being a publicist um so

10:11that was my original thought that I would be a writer uh and I love fashion too I loved a lot of

10:18things you know I was one of those kids I loved a lot of things um but they were all kind of centered

10:22around entertainment and so uh after I graduated I worked um I started I just started my PR company like

10:31I didn't go to school or anything for I didn't work for a major agency or label or anything I just

10:37started my own PR company but now I do still do PR but now I do talent management as well so I manage

10:44artists and actors and digital talent and I've built a management company um we'll get there obviously here

10:53in South Africa and in New York and and I still use all the same skills of writing and negotiating and

11:00communicating you know well it's funny because um as I told you before we started filming you know

11:06we're just gonna be all over the place because you'll say something and I'm like okay let me ask

11:09you about that because I can't pay attention to myself sometimes so um you're from Harlem

11:15went to Spelman and you're now in South Africa how did that happen

11:22girl I mean God God needs to tell me um whoa I've always so funny enough when I was 15 16 I actually

11:35visited South Africa on a like a domestic exchange and I really loved it yeah I really really loved it

11:42it was like a six-week program because I went to boarding school and um they offered it as a six-week

11:48program and I did it and I loved it but I obviously didn't think that I would ever be back

11:52so um I my one of my best friends got married in 2019 and I came to the wedding obviously and I ended up

12:03meeting a guy out and about um and me and that guy fell in love and I moved here part-time

12:15in 2020 and I've just been back and forth building here and in New York still for the past five years

12:25it's funny because I was going to say that usually when someone makes a move to a different continent

12:31that it has to be for someone that they're falling for so when you said that I was like oh okay so you

12:38know that makes sense and I didn't know that you were in South Africa before so I definitely didn't know

12:42that but you know curiosity so it's like all serendipitous because I visited here when I was

12:48in my teens um but I love South African men I mean I I'm sure you have more questions about it I can go

12:53on and on about it now now I know I have limited time with you so I'm going to try to okay condense

12:59whatever we talk about because I know that it's going to be like all over the place but more importantly

13:04I want to discuss your business because I know you started the rebel agency and now you have the rebel

13:09management and um yeah just you've already explained and the funny thing is like I said we

13:17all are doing things that we didn't think we'd be doing but then you know we become successful

13:21at it and like like what goes through your mind when it comes to the clients that you decide to

13:31represent or just the business that you um take on because I know there's so many different

13:38aspects that can go into whatever business decision but what does the the initial thing

13:44that will get you interested in wanting to either represent a company or a client

13:49yeah a company and client is I mean a company in town is different I think when I first PR company

13:57um we did work with musicians we work with labels with like their newer artists um for a long time

14:04I did PR for Elle Varner who's still a really good friend of mine um I've done some stuff uh through

14:10uh management companies with like Tamar Braxton and and different people so music is definitely in

14:16our space um and I love R&B so it's kind of an easy thing to work with R&B artists um and then it

14:23kind of grew to tech and I I didn't initially set out to only work with black owned companies and kind

14:30of um black people but it just it just so happened to to be that which I loved we worked with an

14:37amazing coffee company um called uh uh oh shit listen it's been so long but I've worked with coffee

14:48companies I've worked with tech companies we've worked with the lip bar with Melissa Butler when it

14:52first first came out um as they like uh and we're starting to get investors for their mobile van so

14:58we've done a lot of really amazing things um I think I got really burnt out by PR around 2018 I'd been

15:05doing it for six years on my own building my own business and it was tough in New York City right

15:10trying to live and be in my 20s and it was a lot so I did kind of crash out in 2018 2019

15:17and what happened was a good friend of mine Tracy G who's on Sirius XM or Pandora now um um with uh

15:26Sway hi Tracy hi Tracy hi girl her birthday's coming up um so but we don't know when this is

15:34gonna come out so I'm not gonna say no dates okay okay um so yeah so she kind of came to me and

15:43her manager had just left I think her manager was just like moving on to other things and she was

15:48like I really want you to manage me and at the time you know Instagram had really kind of just

15:53taken off this had to be like maybe 2017 2018 Instagram just started in 2013 um so Tracy was heavily

16:01on Instagram and then of course growing her brand on the radio and I was like okay I needed something

16:08different I just needed not to get rejection letters or not to be ghosted by editors I mean I

16:15just I needed a break and so I started managing her and it was beautiful because it was all the skills

16:22that I already had but I was talking to brands and actually doing work and making an impact um so it

16:31was really really beautiful and that question or that or that um her idea about me managing her

16:39grew into rebel management which is now a management company on two continents we manage actors and

16:46musicians and digital talent um we've uh had a really great run over the past what now eight years but

16:54only only two years in South Africa but eight years overall so yeah it's funny because that's usually

17:01one of the questions I've had several publicists on here because I know that um publicists are

17:07usually behind the scenes making it happen and that's why I want to acknowledge you know certain

17:12ones but I've always asked because I know that well everyone knows I hate publicists just in general

17:18just because you know I'm always doing publicists need better PR I know no but I don't say in the fact

17:27that that they don't do a good job it's just that you know most of my emails and contacts are from

17:32publicists and and management because you know trying to get placement but I've always wondered because

17:38I've been approached about doing PR and even management and I'm like I I can't deal with yeah I'm not used

17:46to being rejected no um and and that's the thing because I know that that like I and the thing is

17:55I use rejection only because a lot of my PR friends would be like you're always rejecting me it's like

18:00I'm not rejecting you I might be rejecting your ideas I'm rejecting the time but I I don't know if I

18:07are strong enough to reach out to 50 publications and only three are interested and that's what I'm

18:17saying so it's like I know how my ego works so I end up being at a party and choking an editor

18:23from a magazine that said no to me so I'm like I don't know how how how have you been able to deal

18:29with that when you were doing strictly PR because as you stated when you said that it struck it struck

18:34in my mind because I'm like I know that that is something that um I've had publicists who actually

18:39hate me or they'll say to me after I've been trying to get stuff on your site for like 10 years and you

18:44finally and I'm like yeah but I'm being approached by 900 of you so it's like I gotta either pick and

18:51choose or I gotta my email my emails are crazy and yeah it's not about me but it's about you but

18:57how are you able to like function like because the success rate even if you're successful

19:04the success rate when you contact is usually a failing rate when it comes to numbers how are

19:11you able to deal with that and move forward and continue yeah I think oh that's a great question

19:17I think what I love about PR and management is like you're figuring out a puzzle right so like I have

19:25to figure this out right and like the rejection doesn't bother me anymore uh it was a lot like when

19:31I was trying to pay my bills but once you get to like um a certain level financially the rejection

19:37the rejection is not really it because to me it's like how do I figure out what that person needs you

19:44know what I mean like clearly I'm not giving them what they need so how do I figure out what that person

19:50needs and then I'm able to give that to them and then I can win in the end now that doesn't always

19:56work it doesn't always come to fruition as a press hit but to me it's the constant like who is this

20:03person what are they like writing about like I really enjoy enjoy unraveling them um I've always

20:10been against mass emailing editors I've always been against that like there's a lot more work on the

20:16back end with PR than people think if you're going to be a good publicist that's specifically sending

20:20stories to specific people um there's a lot of back end work that needs to happen there a lot of

20:26research a lot of time too it's like you gotta it's a lot of time invested so PR to me is a strategic

20:33job and yes it's a numbers game like the more emails I send the more I'll get back and trust me I

20:42send hundreds of emails a week um but it's also like a figuring out thing you know what I mean like

20:50if I'm gonna hit you said I'm gonna hit something that I think you would like specifically now if

20:57it doesn't fit it doesn't fit but you have to a bunch of other people in editor meeting so if it

21:02doesn't fit it doesn't fit but at least I knew no I pitched him something that if it was if it was

21:08gonna work it was gonna work like it wasn't bullshit so I enjoy it because I love the strategy and

21:14strategic thinking and the people and the understanding people aspect and then yeah

21:21well I mean that's good that's good to hear um it's always been a thing for me when people I didn't

21:30realize until a couple years ago that by me not responding you would think that that would be like

21:37an automatic no even though that's because I get 3 000 I probably got 3 000 emails by the time you

21:44finish that last sentence till now but then publicists I became cool with like they will

21:50explain to me like I've got to take something back so it's like I started becoming more cognizant of that

21:56because if I'm getting 300 emails and I have to respond to each one I'm not getting work done I'm not

22:02doing what I'm supposed to be doing so I also try to make publicists understand that sometimes

22:08I can't or I'll get an email a month later and it's like oh that campaign's over and I'm like oh

22:13sorry but I also try to like even even when dealing with you try to I can't or my editor doesn't want

22:22to even respond to me let alone give me a response that's a different story but um

22:26that's where relationships come in right so it's like I have the relationship with said where when

22:33he sees my name at least he says snitcher not right now and moves on right that's the relationship

22:38aspect that people are really paying for they're paying for bonds whether it's yes or no if someone

22:44doesn't have a relationship with you you're going to archive that thing and move on but if you see

22:49that I'm emailing you at least you're going to be like okay I presented this but they didn't

22:53do it or it's not going to fit right now and you keep it moving you know what I mean

22:56yeah one of two things I'm either going to get sick of you and just ignore you completely or I'm

23:00going to respect the fact that you're still reaching out and like you say you develop some

23:04type of rapport because like I said if I was to get a dollar fee email like god I wouldn't have to

23:09write but that's not a story that's not a story so I actually I don't it's I don't get offended if

23:16they don't write about something right so that's another thing like the relationship has to mean more

23:21than the transaction so yes I'm reaching out to you and I'm expecting you to respond to me but

23:26I'm not expecting you to do it just because we're friends right there's some levels there

23:31obviously right if I got some dirt on you I do expect you no but um I'm Olivia Pope your ass but

23:38um I don't expect that so you're going to get the same energy from me if you're able to write about

23:43my thing or not and I think that just keeps the relationship authentic definitely yeah now um

23:51when it comes to like I said people that I that I bring on this you know that there's always some

23:57type of accolades because you know you know they're great my friends are better than yours for a reason

24:01and I was looking on Instagram today and I was like okay so she had to go out and be featured in

24:09glamour of South Africa just so she can have something to brag about when she comes on the show

24:14you know congratulations with that and and and as I stated like um I get joy out of featuring people

24:24as opposed to product or moments because that's that's what we're here for like you know to celebrate

24:32those but with me I always get more excited knowing that somebody I know I've worked with have done and

24:39it's being acknowledged for doing certain things and you've been in several magazines and several

24:45websites and things of that nature as a publicist because or manager publicist manager who is used to

24:53getting the people the spotlight how does it feel when the spotlight is brought on you

24:58not because you want it but because you're doing the work and people are recognizing it

25:03oh sad I mean you're literally asking this at the perfect time because

25:07when when the request came in from the editor I was like oh okay like I'll answer these questions

25:15is this going to be in print and she's like yeah of course and I'm like what I'm like what do you

25:24mean because like you said I've had a bunch of digital articles I love digital articles it's something

25:29to point to um something tangible but I've never from what I remember I've never been in print

25:35not in print as an article of myself I've been in books um like quotes and stuff from like like

25:41published books but I've never been in print and so I was like what um this is crazy so when I got I

25:50didn't know that I was going to be as excited as I was I was like oh you know I go and buy magazines

25:56with my clients and them all the time I'm very excited when that happens because it's literally the work

26:00right there but to see my face and to see like my words yeah it was it was kind of like inexplicable

26:12and I literally talked to my clients and I was like is this how you feel when you're in a magazine

26:15they're like yeah this is how it feels and I'm like wow that's crazy so honestly I just was very

26:22grateful to God to the editor um for seeing me because again I like being in the background and so

26:30it's weird when someone sees you and they're like yeah you're great you should you know um yeah it's

26:37an it's an inexplicable feeling it really makes me want to work harder because I'm a workaholic

26:43and yeah it's a beautiful thing to be recognized for your work you know what I mean like the things

26:50you do for other people for me for other people you know so I was really proud of myself now when

26:57it comes to you know your work and the way you operate you know because of course being from New

27:02York where that's a that's a whole different animal on every level and of course being a Harlem

27:08native branching out to South Africa like how does your business sense either match or is it

27:19or does it differ in a different region even though that even if it's a South African client

27:25and you're getting American placement like I don't know the scene in South Africa I've never been there

27:32um so I don't know how it's operated how people of course I've done articles of people that's from

27:37South Africa and things of that nature but is it a different mindset when you're dealing with

27:41certain clients regionally because of course if you know based on businesses of course it depends on

27:47what it is movies whatever but reasonably because like I said it's a different and they may have a

27:52different mindset when it comes to you know placement and things of that nature in a different company

27:58company company sorry like you said I'm a New Yorker so I keep it very straight um even today I was

28:09well my Uber driver was like I didn't greet him I'd like messaged him and I was like where are you on

28:15your way and he was like um hello and I was like okay um it's very very prevalent how I am my grit

28:26and all of that and some people love it because South Africa is a little uh more humble I would say

28:34they're a little bit slower to the to the work ethic is a little slower obviously there are outliers

28:41people that I know that are like crazy workaholics but um in general in general the work the work uh

28:49pace is a bit slower and they're just more humble right like they don't really brag about themselves

28:54they don't really um say that they need something very specifically and I will come in there and be

29:00like I need this this and that we can take it we can leave it you know what I mean no love lost

29:06but they don't really negotiate like that and so um and that's we can talk about it but to me in my

29:13perspective that's they're a very new country democratically and in in thinking that they

29:19deserve uh good things right but that's a whole nother conversation so um yeah I just feel like

29:26I've learned that I've learned to take what I can from it to be strengths so I do think that being

29:34direct and I do think that being super clear and what I need and what I want is a is a green flag is

29:40a positive thing and then on the other side I do think that greeting someone with pleasantries and

29:47um being a little bit more nurturing more like honey you know what I mean is is a good thing right uh so

29:58I've learned to take what I could from my New York grit and apply it and I think the people who get

30:04it get it and I've built some great relationships with clients who absolutely get it and then I've

30:09met people who it didn't work out and we you know we couldn't work together but I would definitely say

30:14it comes up a lot my uh my New York aggression I was like you can't be nice in New York oh no we have

30:23a different type of nice I should say we have a different type of nice yeah we have no no I tell

30:28people I'm not nice I'm kind I understand what's right and wrong and I'm gonna be kind to you but

30:34I'm not a nice person okay that's what I tell people I got it now being uh by the way so huh

30:43he just my son just walked in but go ahead of course being there you go no being a black owned

30:52woman hey how you doing hey you got on the Mets hat yes that's his favorite hat should be Yankees

31:00but it should be Yankees but his uncle took him to a Mets game this summer

31:03hi how are you I'm from Harlem I'm from Harlem with that hat you gotta wear the hat a little

31:13more slanted to be smaller but um did you have a good time

31:19I'm listening you know mothers multitask I'm listening to you that's okay there we go we go in

31:32that direction um being a mother a business owner black and a woman well of course you're a woman if

31:42you're a mother but you know anyway um well let's not get into that child yeah I thought about it

31:47once I was listen came out of my mouth but um how are you able to handle

31:54how you're able to juggle everything and still be able to smile or function because that that is a lot

32:03I mean running a business is a lot in itself but then you throw in the other lifestyle aspects

32:09and then like I said being a woman and then being a black woman like how are you able to juggle all of

32:15that and still be able to smile well I'm going to give you the pg version because there's there's

32:22an art there's a there's another version of a answer to that question that I don't want to condone any

32:28uh vices for any people but outside of that um who I think I had heard it somewhere maybe Michelle Obama

32:40said it or something but like or another powerful woman um you can be all things but not all things

32:47at the same time and I really take that to heart so when I'm working I'm working when I'm a mother

32:55I'm a mother when I'm a friend I'm on that phone and I'm not listening to anything else um

33:01I'm very and when I'm with my clients I'm with my clients I'm very intentional about being present

33:08in whatever hat and role I am doing at that moment if I'm Tanisha and by myself I'm very intentional

33:16about that um and so yeah I kind of I would say my motto is I can be all things but not all things at

33:25the same time and then like you said I am black I'm also Puerto Rican I don't talk about being

33:30Afro-Latina a lot the cologne part kind of you know you know you know you know my mother is Puerto

33:37Rican she's from the Gabaja um and I don't talk about being Afro-Latina a lot because obviously I

33:43grew up in New York you know all Puerto Ricans are basically black in New York so um

33:48we come from a line of hard-working women I mean it's just it's just in our nature to

33:57do whatever we do to the best of our ability and sometimes at the detriment of ourselves so I would

34:04say that yes I'm a hard worker however I've definitely taken on modern ideology of like

34:11nah I'm gonna need a self-care day I'm gonna need a moment you know I'm overwhelmed um

34:17I'm I definitely take on that ideology but I'm a hard worker just um by nature in everything that

34:24I do whether that's motherhood or business owner or whatever yeah um like I said I know you you know

34:32you have to tend to mother duty soon so I'm gonna try to no no no it's fine see and another thing is

34:37I have full-time helps there's another thing about South Africa that I love the states and like I said

34:42I am back and forth I do spend half my time there um but what it's allowed me to do working from here

34:51is to have full-time help so I can be a mother and be a mother at full battery and I can also be a

34:59business owner at full battery um so it's it's very normal very much of the norm here to have like

35:06full-time help if you're a mother um so yeah I do so I don't have to really rush anywhere only

35:11what only I do bedtime that's my only hard thing I do bedtime well like as you stated with your

35:19trajectory to becoming a business owner and even your your your choice to do PR without working at it

35:26because that that's rare especially when you when you're not when you don't set out to do

35:31publicity but then your first lot your first job is basically something that you're doing because

35:38of what you've created as opposed to working with an agency or company or dabbling so how are you able

35:45to just jump into it and then realize that this is something that you're going to do and it's going to

35:51basically carry you into of course the management aspect because that's a big task that's a big ask of

35:57anyone to do a PR company period but then just to do it just say you know what I want to be a

36:04publicist so let me just start my own company like how does that happen yeah um definitely credited to

36:14a Spelman sister of mine who saw me in my sophomore junior year of college and

36:19they saw the things that I was doing so I was a party promoter in school I was obviously very social

36:26and she uh kind of said that I should look into public relations you know as a career

36:31and I never even thought about that uh and so I started this online on campus student organization

36:39from um black the PR society in Atlanta we started a Spelman college chapter and I brought in BET to run

36:48like um marketing um master classes and different like uh you know they partnered with us on on doing

36:57marketing for their uh tv shows at the time and then ended up doing a marketing and PR internship with BET

37:05a summer I think before my senior year so that really kind of started my like oh PR marketing kind of oh

37:13maybe I could do this and then I worked for somebody I worked for two companies that actually

37:18after I graduated Spelman and in each role I said I could run this company better than these these people

37:25I can you know and I have this just unabashed confidence like I just have been born with the

37:34confidence that I could do anything I don't know if it was how I was raised or whatever but

37:38I really felt like I have wings and no you know like no I'm never going to fail kind of thing um

37:47and that kind of like delusion is important if you're a business owner because we fail all the time

37:53so but I can't look at them as failures yeah so I think getting the validation from like my Spelman

38:00sister and then going off and doing a few internships in the space and then working for other people

38:05and realizing I can run a business better than this um it caused me to start my business and then

38:11my brother was the first investor in my business he he helped me incorporate it and he gave me money

38:16startup capital so shout out to him and my family in general for just being super supportive um

38:22and yeah I just I never thought that I couldn't do it like I don't know I just never thought it was

38:29never an option that it wouldn't work or that I couldn't do it same for the management company like

38:34once I got the handle of what it entailed I just was like start a company like I don't know you know

38:41what else to do with this like I can't just do it for one person I don't know it's just in me I guess

38:46and damn there's one thing I want to say about it so one just this kind of delusional confidence

38:53to support from my friends and family financially and emotionally which definitely helped at the

38:58beginning um oh and I I think I thrive in in um professional environments where I'm behind the

39:08scenes so like PR as a publicist you're very much behind the scenes you're building a story you're

39:13building a brand you're representing them talent management is not too far off I'm still behind the

39:18scenes building a story building a brand so I think that I really thrive in those type of uh professional

39:25environments it was funny because I actually started industry co-sign like I think I see I I was

39:32writing the industry co-sign before I even started writing for any publications even the source even

39:37when I went to the source so I I get the feeling and for me it was just a matter of people listen to

39:43me I've I've always had the knack to build an audience and at just like you were I was a party

39:48promoter as well so I was always able to bring people out so I use that to my advantage because even today

39:54like editors of the black enterprise they'd be yelling at me every day about my writing you know

39:59I'm like am I that horrible but I can bring people in I mean so that that that's going to be that's

40:06always going to be my my strength because there's no one that has brought in more people more eyes to

40:12black enterprise than me that's factoring so I'm going to take I'm going to take this to grave until

40:17I'm dethroned but so I definitely I definitely understand the mindset because never taking a

40:22journalism class and even today when my editors yell at me I'm like oh sorry and then move on to the

40:30next story yeah literally what are what are the plans going forward if you if there's anything that

40:39you'd like to discuss and when I say plans I don't mean anything in particular unless you have anything

40:43in particular but just in general because you know I guess it's a play on where do you see yourself in

40:4910 years but don't want to sound so corny but at the same time you might have a vision that are it could

40:55be a situation where you don't have a vision and you know well I'm trying to guide you to an answer

41:01when I don't even have to but what is in the picture for Tanisha Cologne's bibb oh um I have a lot

41:10in the pipeline not that say yes but um I'm really interested in building wealth and legacy for my

41:21family and what that means um is diversifying income streams and business ventures and different

41:29things like that I'm very interested in expanding into other parts of Africa like Kenya West Africa

41:37Nigeria and Ghana even sub-Saharan Africa Zim Namibia um Botswana I'm very very interested in

41:44just expanding our African footprint and um the UK I've always said that I've wanted to connect

41:52the diaspora across all continents um and that still stands that's still very important to me

41:59I did put the PR agency kind of on pause um for a long time and so I'm very excited about

42:05reigniting that in 2026 um and you know reaching out to old clients and old you know people like

42:13said and letting them know that we're back in business um but I needed to put that on ice for

42:19a little bit because PR was stressing me out but now PR is so much more and so I've really been in

42:26education phase of like where is PR now and how do I see my vision or my perspective of PR um being

42:37different and what can we what's going to be the nucleus of our company going forward because I

42:40started rebel agency in 2012 this is before Instagram so it was before digital PR now we have

42:46AI I mean there's just so much um PR has dramatically I don't think we talk about this a lot but it has

42:53dramatically changed in the last 13 years um so yeah I'm really excited about that um I'm really

43:01excited about growing the talent agency in Africa and in the UK and I'm really excited about a few

43:07business ventures that um well I will be glad to share with you when when it happens yeah no that's

43:16fair that's fair because of course we're coming to the conclusion which is the reason why I asked

43:21what um damn you said something that I had on my mind and I just messed myself up ah well anyway um

43:31sorry well anyway I'm gonna always take this is something that I enjoy doing because I can I'm

43:40going to take credit for your success because I can be like you are an in I brought you an intern at

43:46the source and look at you now so I'm gonna take that and you know which is the premise for you

43:54know my friends are better than yours because as I stated um I definitely I definitely want to thank

43:59you for taking the time to do this because we're in different time zones and just just like you I'm

44:06thinking about what I need to be doing in the future that's going to make me happy as opposed to

44:10making other companies happier other people happy but not really making me happy exactly what I'm

44:17saying and I'm saying it in public and take with it what you want out of it not you whoever's

44:23listening um but I I have I have realized and even in conversations with you and other people I feature

44:29on the show everybody who ends up being happy is because they're doing something not because it

44:35pays them but because it's something that's in their heart or something that they always wanted to do

44:39and even though I enjoy writing I don't enjoy it as much because it's it's not as fun anymore and I

44:47think I'm going even I mean I've been told talk shows I mean there's so many different avenues that I

44:53can definitely pick up but I just know that I'm not going to leave the industry so to speak but I just

45:00have to make sure that I can be like Tanusa and just pick up and do what I want to do and make it happen

45:05and then be happy and then move to a different continent and start another business I mean I say

45:12this to people and again like take what you want of it but you literally have all the resources and

45:18tools to make the life that you want and I know that that sounds different for a lot of different

45:23people because there are a lot of different people are in different spaces like I said financially

45:26emotionally emotionally mentally but if you focus on yourself if if it's mentally where you're having

45:33issues find you a free or cheap therapist get your mental right if it's physically like like there's

45:40literally no reason why you can't make the life that you want right and I'm not talking about tomorrow

45:47or next week I'm talking about eventually right you can start um now and in five years your life can

45:53look completely different that is definitely true that's just my little soapbox that's that's all

46:00I'm gonna tell people like my little hashtag that I have on my social media pages get some purpose

46:05and it's literally like get some purpose like it's just like medicine like if you have purpose

46:11and whatever let that drive you and let you focus on you and that that purpose and and live the life

46:20that you want to live yo it pains me to see people like just not doing what they are supposed to be

46:26doing or they want to do it pains me yep and and that that ends my portion of so what advice you give

46:35to people without me having to ask but I it is it is sage advice and definitely something that you know

46:42there's somebody that's watching this now that definitely needed to hear that um and I do appreciate

46:47like I said you taking the time to tell us um yeah and sorry sorry I want to say this like

46:53I've been doing this thing on my own 13 years right I started my first business 2012 13 years I've had

47:00like I like you said articles written about me I've had successes but like this is the first year

47:06that I was telling my dad and I also wrote on threads he saw it on threads I'm like how did you see

47:11that anyways um I said I'm so excited about the future and I haven't been for a long time and

47:18that's 13 years of doing what I want building a business and just now am I like yo I'm really

47:27excited about the future so it doesn't happen overnight you know what I mean it happens because

47:33you decide and then you focus and then you're disciplined and then in 10 years you know it

47:40happens for some people it happens overnight but in 10 years it happens well I like focus and

47:46discipline but you know the industry co-sign did celebrate 21 years this year and I am excited

47:52because of some of the things I have planned um and like you said you know sometimes be audacious

47:59be audacious like um oh so I mentioned my dad because I got a little 80 I mentioned my dad because

48:06he said to me I thought you've always been excited about the future like you're such an optimistic

48:12person and that was so interesting to hear that from him because like yeah I mean I'm optimistic but

48:17I had to explain to him it's like no like I don't know there's something different I feel

48:23so focused I feel like God in me on in a really good place we're partnering up really well

48:31and I'm just like super excited another thing is be audacious because I was just with a girlfriend

48:36of mine she's a little bit more timid than me and I told her I said she has her own business

48:42and it's in social media marketing and I told her I said when you go out to dinner when you go out

48:47do you ask like oh who's the manager who does it ask them if they have an agency ask them because I

48:53used to do that when I was in PR I used to say who does your PR who does this who does that and

48:58she texted me the other day and she said she did that at dinner and she got an RFP for a Michelin

49:05starred restaurant who is interested in her agency doing their social media marketing and she texted

49:11me and she said it's all because of what you told me and what you told me you did and I'm like thank

49:17you be audacious because she's already won whether she gets the job or not she's already won because

49:23she's over the hump of like asking you know the universe for what she wants so yeah

49:30tell me something let me stop um I have to actually go and continue my writing that I enjoy immensely

49:41and um I do appreciate your time and oh is there any way people can reach out to you if they

49:49have potential business for you or yeah birds pigeons no I'm joking um yeah email which my email

50:01is on my LinkedIn um so Tanisha come on bed right here um on LinkedIn uh my my email is there it's a

50:12little bit long and then yeah on social DM me and I usually you know give people my that way but yeah

50:18well once again I appreciate your time good luck with any and everything that's coming up

50:24and I'm pretty sure that we'll be talking in some capacity and for anyone who has stayed until the

50:31end thank you for participating in the conversation we're not listening to the conversation yeah yes

50:39and as I state all the time when I'm in front of this camera for this particular program

50:45my friends are better than yours and if you and if you don't think so prove me wrong show me your

50:51friends and more than likely they're either friends with me already or yeah better than you

50:56once again be said the industry code sign thanks Tanisha rebel management and um if you're ever in

51:06South Africa just look for her hit me up Johannesburg you just mentioned her name somebody be like oh

51:12just go down that woods and go this way up

51:15you need to get to South Africa

51:20I do I do and I had a I had a chance two years ago but the agency that contacted me contacted me

51:27like a week before and it was like 10 days and then I had to get shots I'm like come on

51:33I don't know this is what they told me this is like there's certain things I had to get because

51:46whatever I don't know unless they just told me that to discourage me from I don't know maybe there's

51:53no shot you used to have to get yellow fever but not now I can't remember or I could be I don't know

51:59but I just remember that even the fact that it was for 10 days and they contacted me like a week

52:04before I'm like this is how much I have to do within a week I'm like I can't just can't pick up and

52:09leave so you know I missed out on that opportunity but they said they'd contact me but I guess they

52:13didn't want because they haven't contacted me but anyway hit them up I can't even remember who it was

52:22to be honest but when you when you do it when you do one of your launch parties or events maybe I'll

52:28just fly down and then just appear I'll do a little yes we'll do a media fly down you know what you got

52:36I got a little see okay there we go so it's going to happen whether it's via Tanisha or via said it's

52:44going to happen thank you so much said I appreciate you you're a legend you're continuing to be a

52:54legend and I'm very happy to be your friends all I can do is try tell the people that black

52:59enterprise that see it let me sign okay so big said the industry co-sign till next time thanks

53:08once again and yeah my friends are better than yours

53:13I didn't know if you could still hear you you couldn't hear me right no okay yeah

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