- 5 days ago
Looking to take your talents from the timeline to the TV screen? Join Season 5 castmate of ESSENCE & Coca-Cola's If Not For My Girls, comedian and actress, Pretty Vee to learn how she used social media to make her Hollywood dreams a reality.
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00:00Hey, you guys. Hey, ladies. What they do? Period. Okay, let's get into it. I am Pretty V.
00:19Actress, entrepreneur, philanthropist, now an author. That's tea for y'all because I
00:26didn't tell nobody that I'm writing my own devotional book. Yes, I am a PK, so that
00:32stands for, of course, Preacher's Kid. Background is God, Fearing, and we're going to get into it.
00:39I'm not here to give you guys a lecture. I'm just here to have a sisterhood conversation
00:44about my journey and how I can help you guys get to your purpose and your promise. So, yes,
00:51I am Pretty V, and thank you so much to Essence for putting on this marvelous and powerful
00:56event because we all deserve our flowers, and I am on the new series on If Not For My Girls,
01:03brought to you by Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, you guys. So, give it up for Coca-Cola, you guys.
01:09Thank you guys so much. So, I'm going to get into it. As a child, I knew I was gifted. You know how
01:14many of y'all in here know that you guys are gifted? Come on, come on, come on. But I'm going to talk
01:19about that there is a process before the promise, right? And how many of you guys know in here that
01:24there is a process before the promise? Okay, so let me tell you my story. I'm from Miami, Florida.
01:30I grew up from state to state, and I went to high school in South Carolina where it was real country.
01:37Okay, you coming from City Girls. I'm coming from Piggly Wiggly now, okay? And after that,
01:43we transitioned to North Carolina where I studied communications at St. Augustine University,
01:47my HBCU in Raleigh. And I graduated in all four years, and that's when life began. That's when
01:54depression came. That's when anxiety came. That's when nervousness came. And that's when my life
01:58started because I was involved in everything in college. I was hosting. I had my own radio show,
02:06Lounge 22. I had this. I had that. And when I graduated, I began, my faith have to activate.
02:14And how many of y'all know in here that, of course, your mom could pray for you and your grandma could
02:20pray, but you got to do the work. And I didn't know how to do that because I was so depending
02:26on my mom to be a prayer warrior for my own issues. And I had to go to God myself. And he sat me down,
02:33and I was very depressed. And I had those nervous feelings in my head a lot because I'm a creative.
02:39So I tell these stories in my mind. And God, you said that I am supposed to be in the entertainment
02:45industry, but I don't see it. So I moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, and I got my first
02:50radio job at a pop station. But I was still broke. I was working promotions, and they were not paying.
02:57But I wanted to be the next Angie Martinez. I wanted to be Ludacris. I wanted to be Lala. I wanted to be
03:02in the entertainment industry. So I didn't care what door I walked into. I just wanted to do it.
03:07And my best friend, how many of y'all have best friends? How many of y'all got the sisters?
03:13We love our best friends, but we don't like the hater ones. You know, you got them friends that's
03:16hating on you too? They don't want to see you win. Yeah, we got those too. We just don't, you know,
03:21do too much for them, you know. But I have my best friend, and I'm a girl's girls, and I love a
03:26sisterhood. I love a bond. And we have that Anika. She told me, she said, V, there is a app, you know,
03:34on Instagram. You need to go, you got Instagram, but you know, you got to just do something crazy,
03:38and you'll go viral. And I said, girl, what we gonna do, girl? What we gonna do? Like, I'm already
03:43creating these characters in my mind, and I'm already doing, I'm thinking. She said, no, girl, go fight
03:47yourself in the street. And that's when I got viral. Let my head go, let my head go. That video that went
03:52all over the place. Baller Alert, Shade Room, Bossip, all over. But I was still broke. I was
03:59working for Fairfield Marriott at the time. I got viral. Everybody was reaching out. Missy Elliott,
04:04Rihanna, Monica, all these souls that I love and I can't wait to work with. But I was still broke,
04:10still depressed. We're sharing an apartment with my sister in Charlotte. I worked at Fairfield
04:14Marriott, TJ Maxx, and all these other jobs, and I got fired from all of them. And then, after that,
04:22my friend at the time, she said, hey, Veena, there is an audition for Wallin' Out, and I
04:28think you should do it. And I said, girl, I don't even got no money to fly to New York.
04:31I'm broke. I told you. I'm going through a process now. I'm trying to get there. You
04:37know, I'm trying to get there. And she said, no, no, no, no, I'll give you the money. Just
04:41do it. And I said, okay, cool. And I went out there, and I lied. I said, D.C. Youngfly,
04:46my cousin, so what's up? You know, and Carlos Miller, my uncle, so what's good? And I got
04:53the audition. I went, and they did not pick me, you know, at the time. Me and B. Simone
04:57was so close, so we all went in together, and she got picked, and Jess Hilarious got
05:01picked. Oh, everybody got picked, everybody, except Pretty V, you know, except the one that
05:05came up with Sharon and Peanut Mom and all these characters. But I wasn't in that space to
05:11fit in with everybody. God said, okay, cool. Well, no, it's not your time. But you see, when
05:15God gave it to you, you don't got to lie. You know, God is an honest God. So I had to
05:19wait, and I had to go through my process. So I said, okay, y'all didn't pick me. Y'all
05:23picked me, Simone. Y'all picked Jess. Y'all picked all. I'm going to show y'all I could
05:25do this. And that's when my followers started growing, because now I got confident in my
05:31craft. I got confident in my artistry. I got confident in my purpose. And I watched my
05:35numbers grow so much. I was at 3 million, 2 million followers. Got a call from Paramount that
05:40said, hey, we want you to come in for Wildin' Out to be a cast member.
05:44We see what you're doing. We see your growth. You don't even have to audition.
05:51Let me tell you how God worked. Let me tell you how God, when you stay in his presence and
05:56you stay faithful, he will show up. He will use the foolish thing to confound the wise.
06:02And he did that. So I did all that. I got on Wildin' Out. I've been on there for nine seasons
06:07now. And look at God. Look at God. Nine seasons. And I've been doing a great job with those
06:15relationships, right? But I had to go through the moment still of, okay, God, what's next?
06:22Because I never wanted to be that Wildin' Out star and just be Wildin' Out. How can I turn
06:28this into something else, which is funny into money? And then I got my first home from that
06:35check. My mom is okay. She's a pastor. She's in Atlanta. So I don't know if everybody out here from
06:40LA, right? Y'all traveled Atlanta in-house? Okay. Charlotte, North Carolina, Texas. Okay. We're about
06:49Spartanburg. Spartanburg. Okay. Country. Lord. Okay. New York. Anybody from New York? Okay. Okay. Yeah.
06:58Okay. So I got on Wildin' Out. And after that, I had to figure out what's next for myself. Am I going
07:04to just stay here? Am I going to, you know, venture out and do other things? And that's when I got my
07:09first brand ambassadorship with City Trends, where all my products was in 600 plus stores and down to
07:15beauty, down to electronics, down to this, down to that. And I was like, okay, the greatest thing
07:21about it all, like, yeah, that's cool that we're a part of these things, but what about ownership?
07:27Yeah. When you do those things, they take a percentage, but they still have your name tied
07:30into all these different things. And I did that and it was cool. I'm still in the partnership with
07:35it, but I want to expand. So I told myself, okay, I got out to do this, but I want to go sell some
07:39merch. I want to go do this. I want to tap in. I want to do this. I want to do that. And I did all of
07:44that, you guys. What I'm telling you guys right now that in order for you guys to get to your
07:49promise, you have to go through a process to get there. Down to wilding out, lying and getting on
07:56the show, down to City Trends and doing the partnership, down to the MTV, BET, all these
08:01other things. You have to go through the process in order to get to the promise. And I want to go
08:08around now. I'm just going to ask anybody. Want to ask a question to anybody right now,
08:13just to get into your head so we could talk. Oh, Sheree, you're the first one.
08:18Okay. Yeah. Okay. Okay. Okay.
08:23So you talk about the process and you know, you spoke a little bit about sisterhood and other
08:28people in your life, investing in your gift, in the destiny that they all believe as you do,
08:33what God have for your future. Teamwork makes the dream work as we know. So for you in going
08:38through this industry, what are some of the upsides of team for you? And what have been
08:44some of the downsides when it hasn't worked out with a manager or a publicist or someone
08:49who can help further your career?
08:52Okay. So like I was saying, I got all these different things, right? That's happening.
08:58After wilding out, my life turned, but I was still in a space of the anxiety part. You know,
09:05you want to keep all this up. You know, you got all these followers now. I got 6.5 million
09:09followers on Instagram, right? So I'm like, I got to keep those things up. I got to do this. But
09:13then now as you get bigger, the enemy comes, right? The enemy just amass itself through friends,
09:20through family, through business partners, through managers, through publicists. So for me,
09:27I don't want to put nobody's business idea. Okay. But I was with somebody for a couple of years
09:32and I loved working with them. I thought they were dope. I thought they were a believer because
09:37I only want people who believe around me. Okay. I don't care about who, you know, I need to figure
09:43out who you really know. Okay. I don't like just because it's a name. No. How can you cover me when
09:52I got to walk into these type of rooms? How can you tell me like, Hey, do a good job when it's time.
09:57So we were great. You know, she loved God, this person, this, the person, that. But I read in my
10:04devotion this morning, it said, this is a season of change. So as I got higher, they had to go.
10:11And I told my home girl, I said, if I'm in your way of your life, you got to school me out your way.
10:17And if you in my way, you got to get on out. So in order for me to get to my next process and promise
10:23and all that good stuff, they had to leave. So to answer your question, I've been through
10:28the managers where they had a vision for me, but that wasn't my vision or God's vision. So they
10:34had to go. I had publicists where they're like, Hey, well, I did that for you. So what's up?
10:39You didn't. I got the gift. God gave it to me. You're just a vessel to help me get there. So now
10:44if you're trying to be stingy and, and, and act like you got me here, I gotta let you go. Cause you're
10:48not the one. I don't see it for you no more. Business deals. Like I said, city trends. I have a
10:53partnership with them, but also the percentage is not that big to be very transparent, but
10:57it sounds good. But they're the type of people too, where it's like, Hey, well, you know,
11:03we got this partnership for you. That's fine. That's cool. But what else can you do? And it's
11:07like, no, let's talk about it. Let's unite on ideas. Let's do this. Let's do that. And I love
11:14my brand deals and different things I do. But when you don't have the creative direction with certain
11:19things, it could get a little bit, you know, tug and war like, okay, so you here because I'm making
11:24you some money or you here to partner with me. So you guys have to understand when you guys are
11:27tapping into these brands and want to work with people and want to do these things, make sure
11:31that you got some creative direction, partner vibes in this situation, because you can be in a
11:38space where people could take your ideas and run with it or be in a space of they don't give you
11:42credit for your hard work. I thank God that everybody and every person and every deal that I worked
11:47with, I'm a part of that process because I have to have Pretty V all over it. So shout out to
11:52City Trans because baby, if it wasn't for y'all, I ain't gonna make my million now. Shout out to them
11:58now. But we're revamping my whole brand with that. And I'm so excited about being a part of these
12:05brands. It's just about now it's stepping into what Pretty V wants to do. And I told somebody from
12:10Coca-Cola yesterday, I said, right now I'm working on all things Pretty V. I want to make sure I tap into
12:15brands that make sense for me, not just because of the name. I don't care about that name. I care
12:20about how do I see longevity in this partnership? How do I see longevity in this brand? And when you're
12:26trying to get there, you have to have a team that believes in you. You can't just be with any and
12:30everybody because any and everybody may not take you to the next level. God could use anybody to help
12:35you. But you got to understand sometimes it could be limited with that person. You want to be
12:40limitless with God. That's what I want to do. So I want to tap into any more questions. Okay, come on.
12:49Thank you. Well, for one, my name is Jayden. I'm a graduating senior at Howard University.
12:55Here with my line sister. But it's actually crazy you spoke about like what it was like for you when
13:02you graduated college because I was just telling my sister like, sister, I don't know what I'm doing.
13:05Like that's why we came out here because I'm like, I'm trying to meet people, figure it out. So like,
13:10what advice would you give in that circumstance? Because I know you said it was after college when
13:14everything kind of hit you and you're like, I don't know what to do. So for someone who hasn't
13:18hit that point yet, but it's about to in like two months, what advice would you give?
13:23And you're still in school, right?
13:24Yeah.
13:25Okay, MA. Okay.
13:26I would say, and I'm going to just, if I can, anybody here do vision boards? Like you guys
13:33have vision boards. You do vision boards as well. Have you guys gotten what's on your vision
13:37board? Some or all? Like who? You said put on a husband. Okay. Okay.
13:50You know sometimes, and how many of you guys have it and you guys receive what's on your vision
13:54board, but there's still some things that you have to get, right? Right. So I was talking to
13:59my good friend, Picasso. She's here. Say hey, B. And she knows I'm always on her tail about being
14:09consistent. And I want to say the same thing for you. Write it down, make it plain. You know,
14:15I can't tell you, hey, you're going to have a job right after, because when I got graduated,
14:19I ain't had no job. I told you what I had to go through. Fairfair Marriott, TJ Maxx,
14:23and I used to work for DaBaby. I was his assistant with South Dakota Music Group. I
14:27was assistant for three years doing his bookings and taking him to different college shows. And
14:33now he's DaBaby, you know? Like, so we did all that in North Carolina. Like I wanted to be in the
14:39entertainment industry so bad that I didn't care what job came to me. I just wanted to walk into
14:42that door. But not knowing that when I looked a blink of an eye, he's a superstar too. I'm like,
14:48wow. But I could say I was a part of your journey. So for you, you have to just say, God,
14:53I don't know what your belief system is, because I'm going to get into it. I feel like you have to,
14:57come on, you have to write it down, make it plain, and don't be scared to fail.
15:02Don't be scared to fail. Apply for these jobs, whatever your heart desires, whatever you want
15:06to do. But don't be afraid to fail, because it's okay. The no's, it's okay, because God got your yes.
15:14A delay is never a denial. So he's going to give it to you. So you have to structure yourself and
15:19posture yourself to receive the blessings from him. And just know that, okay, God, I see you.
15:23I know you hear me. I know that if I apply to this job, it may work out. But I know you got something
15:28bigger for me. So don't be afraid to go out and step out and put your feet on the ground and plant
15:33your foot there and keep moving. So that's what I could say. Yes, you're welcome. So I hope I answered
15:40your question right. For me, like, you know, I feel like I wrote it down. I've seen the manifestation
15:46come and I just walked into it. Again, I didn't have any job right after college. I told you
15:50I was so involved in the school. And when I got out of school, then life began. And I
15:55had nothing but him and my mama. So yeah, you're welcome. Oh.
16:04Well, you did really great on rap shit. So what was the beginning? Listen, what was like
16:10the beginning process of the audition? And then how was it and what you learned as you're
16:15filming towards the end? You know, so the process of rap shit. Shout out to Charlamagne. I did not
16:22audition for that. Look at God. I didn't audition for that role at Audasia. Charlamagne DM me,
16:27not DM me, but he text me and he said, hey, you should be on rap shit. You from Miami. It's a Miami
16:32based show. Do it. And I say, what show that is? And he was like, V. And then he sent me all
16:38information. He, Issa Rae, Issa Rae called me on set of Wild N Out. And she was like, girl,
16:43Charlamagne been vouching for you. Let's do it. Let's do it. Deja, you want Deja? I said, I do.
16:47Oh my God, Issa Rae's on my phone. Like, well, I'm so excited. I'm not trying to be too much,
16:51but I'm like, oh my God, Issa. I said, what'd you say, Issa? Like literally talking to her and letting
16:56her know I'm going to do it. I'm going to come out to LA. We're going to kill it. Right? So I didn't
17:00audition. Charlamagne is what, Charlamagne is who called me to put me into that space. See,
17:08we have to have people who believe in you that could tell you like you deserve that spot.
17:15Because sometimes you have friends who won't even tell you that an opportunity is outside.
17:21They'll keep it for themselves. So Charlamagne said, V, this role of Deja is for you. Let me call
17:27Issa, my good, good, good sister and what he would say and tell her, hey, you're interested. And he did
17:32so. And I've been on the show for two seasons. Now that it got canceled, I texted her and I said,
17:38Issa, like, I'm sorry, sis. And I said, wherever you go, I'm going. Point blank period. So yes,
17:44the process was just a word of mouth, but I, I, I, I felt like God used Charlamagne to call me to say
17:50it's time because I never want to be the girl just on Instagram falling off tables and talking about
17:56sharing about y'all and going viral. And that's fine. And I love it. I love what I do. I
18:02thank God for it all. But I always wanted people to take me serious too. People don't even know I
18:07went to HBCU. People don't even know I could talk like this. People don't even know I could host red
18:12carpets. People don't even know I could be in movies. People don't even know I could speak life
18:15into people. People don't know these things because all they see is a pink robe and a bonnet.
18:21And it's fine. But until we have this dialogue, then they even, oh my God, I hope when y'all leave
18:27here, y'all learn something from me for real. Because it's really so much more to know about me. But
18:32we only got a couple of minutes. But still, I want you to know, like, for you, whatever you want
18:38to do, keep going. Because you've been a supporter of everybody else's dream. Now it's time for you
18:43to step out. So you got to do that. You know? So yeah, that was a process with Deja and for Rap Shit.
18:50Yes. So my sister introduced herself. My name is Mariah, graduating senior. Yeah, I am really into
18:58theater, mostly for the stage. But I am an aspiring actress. Pivoting kind of to social media, you were
19:03talking, you know, everyone just knows the pink robe and the bonnet. What about crafting your presence
19:08on social media? Would you have changed if you could go back? And what are you pivoting to now
19:12as you move into this new career path? Come on, question. I want to change anything
19:19from my past. I love what I have given the world. And I love what I'm still giving the world.
19:28I think now is to elevate on what I have. Sometimes we look at our blessings. Someone
19:34told me yesterday doing my hair. It was like, you know, God told me, like, I have it. I just
19:37got to elevate on it. People don't understand. If you have a pencil, how can I make this pencil
19:42pretty? How can I decorate this pencil up so it could be elevated? So that's what I'm doing
19:48right now internally and outwardly. I just want to make pretty V elevate. So if I'm working
19:55with Coca-Cola and I'm working with this and working with that, how can I bring something
19:59different to their brand? How can I elevate me? So when you guys look at my Instagram,
20:03it's not just me falling off tables. It's not just me. Me and Desi pulling my hair. He yelling
20:08at me in the road and I'm doing all this stuff with DC Young Fly and it's all crazy and ratchet.
20:13It's like, okay, but how do we elevate? Let's go get a podcast. You know, let's go do these
20:17shows together. Let's go create a movie together so they can see this outside of just Instagram,
20:22Instagram, you know? So for me, it's all about elevation. So I just want to, like I said,
20:28having those brands, who knows how long I'm going to be with that brand, but I know I took
20:33some knowledge from City Trends and I know I took knowledge from Puma. I know I took knowledge from
20:37Fenty. Fenty was the other brand who reached out and I worked with. Fashion Nova was one of the
20:41brands. Pretty Little Thing was one of the brands. So I've worked with all these brands,
20:45brands, but I just feel like for me, I just want to step in and be a partner in them, right? So you
20:51got to be aggressive in that. So City Trends gave me that opportunity to be a partner in it. So I
20:57think it's about elevation. Sometimes you don't want to just keep shotting lip gloss off. What
21:01about my own lip gloss? You know, what about my own t-shirt? What about my own this? What about
21:04my own Coca-Cola? That's a pretty V on it and I'll buy it. You know, what about that? You know,
21:09but again, you just have to see it and say, you know what? I have to elevate on what I already
21:15have. And that's what I got. I got me. I don't got, I don't got Coke. I don't got City
21:19Trends. They are all their own brand. You got to worry about this brand until all that be
21:23a magnet to you. And then when it comes to you, be like, oh, I got an idea. I can elevate
21:27on it. So yeah, I hope I answered your question. So just elevate on what you got. I would never
21:30change anything that I've been doing that I've done 2016 now. I won't. Yeah.
21:34Okay. All right. I want to continue on that elevation piece. So back in the day, you're
21:42starting on social media and now you get to that sponsorship phase. Did you reach out
21:47to any sponsors initially? Did you say like, you know what? I really want to work with this
21:51people or this person or whatever, or this particular brand? Or were you contacted? And
21:58how do you put a value on your content? How do you know what to ask them for to pay you?
22:04Cause they'll try to give you free shit all the time. Right. But it's just like, yeah,
22:08but what about the cash?
22:12Come on now. Come on now. What, what's your name?
22:17Sheila. I know that's right. Yeah.
22:26So, um, and I actually have my own cooking show, you know, uh, I did on TV one. So it's
22:31still on there. It's on TV one. You guys can look at it if you guys want to. Um, so,
22:35but, uh, um, shout out to TV one y'all. But, um, for me, um, let me tell you something. I
22:41have a lot of brands who reached out, but I have reached out to a lot of brands that I
22:47want to work out who I want to work with. So I used to be in like, I don't know who DMs
22:51Dior DMs. I'm in Nike DM. I'm in Adidas. Like, Hey, let's collab. I'm in this DM. I'm in
22:57Sheen magazine. I'm in essence done got about 10 DMs for me. Like I want to be
23:01your face. So I was DM and the thing about it is, and I told somebody yesterday, I'm
23:06not waiting on a soul to do it. I have to do it because there's some advantages in
23:12a blue check. Okay. They don't see it, you know? So I'm going to use this 6 million
23:17something followers to get y'all attention. So I reach out to the brands and then I
23:22have my team do it. Well, I'm not waiting on them. I always say, I don't care if I have
23:25PRs, managers, whatever, agents, I'm going to reach out to the brand I want to
23:30work out, want to work with so they can respond back and I could get the details
23:34to y'all when it's time. But I'm that faith-based type person. Like I'm just
23:38going to do it. I'm going to try. And if they, and if they respond back, they
23:42respond back. Just like my galore magazine shoot that I did in October. I reached
23:46out to them. I said, I wanted to be your, your, your face. They're like, Oh my God,
23:50V, we love you. Let's do it. So that sometimes they don't know what we got going on
23:54until we ask. So that's what I did. When it comes down to turning funny into
23:58money, your question for me, I feel like how I put value on it is to know my
24:06worth. What do you want me to do? How lengthy is the obligations? How lengthy is
24:12this post? How lengthy is this job? Because if I charge $15,000 for this one post
24:19and you want me to go out here and do 25 K, no, no, no, no, no. What's the time? So I
24:23think it's a team thing, but it's also a pretty V thing because I know what I'm
24:26not going to do. And I know, I know what I am going to do. So I go off it like
24:30that. What's the time? How long you need me? What am I doing? Where is it
24:35going? Are you, are you guys getting money in the back end? How can we work?
24:39What's the percentage look like? So I'm, I'm in those, those black and white
24:43moments all the time, you know, because sometimes companies will put you out
24:47there and say, do it. You're funny. You're professional. You could, you got it. And
24:50then next minute you have no clue on what's going on. You have no direction and
24:53you just got their money. And you're like, okay, I got, no, I don't want to be
24:57just a pretty face y'all. I want to work. Like I want people to put me in rooms so I
25:02could show them I'm not just funny or pretty. I am talented and I'm gifted. So
25:07sometimes when they see that, the prices go up. And also too, it depends on what
25:11brands you work with. If I'm not going to just work with Popeyes and then work with an oil
25:16company and charge them $10,000. No Popeyes just gave me a hundred K. What'd that look
25:21like? That don't make sense. Now oil, y'all going to pay at least 50, you know, at least,
25:27at least 25. If you my home girl, you know, or if I like you, you know, or nothing. So
25:32we could build that relationship. Sometimes it doesn't mean to charge all the time. You
25:37guys build that relationship. Then when they see you consistent and being, you know,
25:41supportive with them, then you say, okay, now you should know my worth. Now y'all,
25:45you should know my value, please. Now I didn't, I didn't slide it three times. We
25:50got these freebies about three times, but you know, not a fourth time. Just look
25:53out, look out for me, you know? So that's how I am. I did that for Fenty. Like, you
25:58know, I didn't charge Rihanna because I wanted that relationship, you know, and I
26:02wanted that bond and I wanted her to know like, girl, it's cool because yeah, you
26:06are who you are, but I know it's more than just monetary. If you go in, if Jay-Z won 50
26:12minutes for Jay-Z, 500K. I'm doing that 50 with Jay because I know I'm gonna get
26:17out there with some form of knowledge and understanding and wisdom to take back to
26:20my home to create. So I don't care about the monetary, but after a while you should
26:24know your worth.
26:28Hi. Hi, my name is Sheila and I am a content creator. I do comedy on social media and I'm
26:38also a student at USC. So I just wanted to know about, like, when you're in that
26:44waiting period, how do you know what's worth waiting for and how do you know, okay, it's
26:49time for me to try something else and not just keep waiting for this one thing?
26:55Okay.
26:55Yeah.
26:57See, I never had a plan B. This is my plan A. I never changed it. I just waited.
27:02Sometimes we'll tap into other things because we feel like, okay, in the time being, I'm
27:08gonna just do this and then when this works out, I'm gonna go back to this. But your A
27:12may distract, your B may distract you from your A. So you got to dive into your A first
27:18and wait there, pray about it and say, you know what, what can I do in the meantime that
27:22could get me to my A? Sometimes you got to be around the crowd of people who, what you
27:28want to do. So if you live in Atlanta, we going to hang out. Where you from? You need
27:35to be a part of my skit, right? I'm a Sharon, but y'all Jamaican. So Kenya, you? Okay. So
27:40you have to be around the same company of people. You can't be, you got to be with like-minded
27:45people. You, you want to do comedy, but you over here with a police officer. What y'all
27:49talking about? You got to have the like-minded people around you so you could start evolving
27:55so you could keep that same dream and that purpose fresh. You over here talking to a police
28:01attorney every day, you around him, what y'all doing? He's pushing you, but he doesn't have
28:06the formula that you have. So you have to be around like-minded people. So the waiting
28:10game will get frustrating. The wait, y'all don't understand. January and February was, I
28:16don't know if y'all had felt like it was slow in January for y'all or February or what that
28:20energy was, but that was a reset for all of us in here. That was the reset for the March,
28:25the April, the May, the June, and July because God going to have y'all on gas. He going to
28:29have y'all working, but we have to believe in that. So we have to stay focused on what
28:33our plan A is. I don't care how hard it looks. I don't care if you guys are tired. I don't
28:37care if you feel like what's happening right now, why I don't see my fruits. Just keep going
28:42because it's going to work out for your good. You have to trust your own process. So to answer
28:46your question, I never veered and wavered from my A. I just was around the crowd of people
28:51that could help me get there. And we're still learning. It is not easy, y'all. I can't,
28:55I'm not going to sit up here and be cute. I wish I could get my wig off to show y'all
28:58like it's that moment. We still have moments. We still have nervousness. We still have anxiety.
29:03We still go into these cycles. But I told myself after Valentine's Day, when I was out of
29:08the country, I said, oh, the cycle has to stop with me overthinking all the time. I have
29:12to go get out of God because I can't stress myself out. I want sweet sleep. I don't want
29:17sleepless nights. So it goes with if not for my girls, right? When you build a bond, a sisterhood
29:23and your friends will pull you out of that space like a Bia and like a Money Long. What
29:28they did for me when I first came to Coca-Cola, I was like, what is this if not for my girls?
29:35Like, what are we doing? Because again, I'm coming out of my house to do this. Ooh, Bia,
29:38I love y'all on Instagram and Money Long. Now I got to tap in with y'all. So, but I saw
29:43different sides of Bia. I saw different sides of Money Long that I was like, wow, we all
29:49have the same thing in common. We all just trying to make it. It don't, it don't matter
29:55if people got millions and seven million followers and they pretty on Instagram. Y'all going through
30:00the same thing I'm going through. So we all have to trust the process. We all have to keep
30:06going because pretty as Bia is, she may be going through something in her secret place.
30:10The pretty as Money Long is, nobody, nobody, nobody gets, all of that. She going through
30:17the same thing I'm going through. So we all have to understand that bond of people, you
30:21guys have to create a community. You guys have to create a community that's going to
30:25help you elevate, that's going to help you succeed, that's not going to hate on you,
30:28that's not going to bring on downfall, that's going to lift you up when you don't feel like
30:32you don't have it all, that's going to wake you up, that you're going to wake them up at
30:35three o'clock in the morning just from the pickup and say, girl, what's up? You need
30:37some, let's pray. That's what you need. And I'm so happy that I was a part of, if not
30:41for my girls, because I grew that relationship with Bia and Money Long. I hosted the Coca-Cola
30:48Zero Sugar, a red carpet with Essence yesterday. And I seen Money Long and she just came to
30:53me and gave me a hug, gave me a kiss. I'm like, I love you. And sung her little, but it was
30:58more of like, wow, it just took, if not for my girls to bring that bond together. And you
31:04have to build that community around that. So yeah, you guys, I'm so excited. Any more
31:09questions?
31:15I'm not trying to steal the show or the shine, you all. We are over time, but I did want to
31:20ask Pretty B before she leaves, if there's just a lasting closing remark that you wanted
31:26to leave everyone in this room with as they depart.
31:30You know, I'm going to talk. You know, I'm going to talk all day. But I want to leave
31:36you guys, before I leave you guys with what I'm going to say, I just want to say this.
31:39Like I said, we are still going through a process. We, I've walked, I'm still going through
31:44a process, but I'm in my promise. It's kind of confusing because you're like, okay, there's
31:47no, you still have to go through a process to get to your next level. I just said it, the
31:51seasons change, right? So you can't do the same thing you did five or two years ago, even
31:56last year. So now there's another process you got to get to. So I'm in my elevation process.
32:01And it's hard when you got to leave people and you got to leave business people alone.
32:04You got to leave brands behind. You got to do this. I'm very transparent. I don't care.
32:08I'm going to speak about it because I have a clean face in this industry and people could
32:11trust me with things. And that's why I hold dear to my heart. Charlemagne is one of them.
32:16You know, Nick Cannon is one of them. Little Duval is one of them. Issa Rae is one of them.
32:19So I value my relationships. But when the season changes, you have to change with the season.
32:24So I want to leave you guys with this. A delay is never a denial, you guys. I don't care how bad
32:32y'all feel like the process has delayed y'all and y'all feel like y'all not going to get there.
32:37You guys are never denied. Just keep, keep going and keep your feet on the ground and ask God,
32:44what's your next destination? And I pray that you guys begin and land in the express lane with him.
32:50Sometimes we do go get off that express lane and go and get to a pit stop and you down a Chevrolet and Shell,
32:56but don't stay there. You know, you at the Wawa sitting there. Get from there, Wawa.
33:04Don't stay at the Wawa. There's nothing there for you. There's a promotion with your name on it.
33:10There's an opportunity with your name on it. There's businesses with your name on it.
33:14There's a home with your name on it. There's marriage with your name on it.
33:18There's things with your name on it. Go and get that and watch how God move.
33:22When you tell him, yes, go do it because we can't keep leaning on our own understanding.
33:26I'm that girl. I go through things. I still go through things.
33:30I still ask God who is going to believe in me.
33:32What next brand is going to help me get to the next level and show a different side of Pretty Vee?
33:36Because you guys are so used to that one thing.
33:39But baby, this is my elevation season and I ain't going back to what was.
33:43Step into it. I love y'all so much. Let's go.
33:56Thank you guys so much for coming.
33:58I'm going to take these cars for me. They're going to get a few photos.
34:01Did everybody enjoy themselves?
34:02She sowed a seed. It's up to you to water it.
34:08She sowed a seed.
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