00:00My mother is extremely loving.
00:03I think she is the most strong-willed person
00:05I've ever met in my entire life.
00:07She is like a fighter, and she is resilient.
00:11I would just add that she is extremely smart.
00:15Like, scary smart.
00:21So can you tell us your story, Mom?
00:28My story started in high school,
00:30and that's where I met your dad.
00:33We were neighbors.
00:34He was having difficulty in math.
00:35I remember the first session where I was helping him.
00:38And the entire two hours, we were just laughing.
00:42There wasn't any math tutoring going on here.
00:44Fast forward to about, say, six, seven years later.
00:49I'm 23, and he's 24.
00:51And remarried with two children.
00:54My first business was working at a hair salon.
00:59I am born that way.
01:00I'm hard-wired.
01:01I get up every morning, and I think,
01:03OK, this could make money.
01:04Let's do it.
01:06You know, I have a building I'm close to downtown,
01:09and I'm going to furnish it.
01:11So I went to Brittany's room,
01:12and I started taking parts of her furniture.
01:14I don't think I had a bed after.
01:16Literally, she left me with nothing.
01:18And that's how my furniture rental started.
01:20Now, Ode is a spin-off from it.
01:22We're able to create this family business together.
01:25It's a Black-owned business, family-owned business,
01:28one of the first Black-owned hostels in the city.
01:32I think when you're building your business,
01:34you're so selfless, and it was always like,
01:36how am I going to provide for these four kids
01:39and you work so hard?
01:40And now, the fact that you go out dancing
01:43and you have, like, sleepovers with your friends
01:45makes me really happy.
01:46I remember when we were growing up,
01:49I felt like you were extremely protective of us.
01:52You always wanted to make sure that we were safe
01:56and that we were okay.
01:58There were a lot of rules and regulations.
02:00Coming from the islands at 11,
02:03one of the things that we struggled with,
02:05especially Tiffany and Chanel,
02:07is that I didn't experience a lot of things
02:09that they were coming and asking me for.
02:11So the first time someone said,
02:13I'm going to sleep at someone's house,
02:15I panicked.
02:16I'm like, what?
02:17You want my child to sleep at your house?
02:20Well, that is not going to happen, right?
02:23So if I didn't understand or didn't know
02:27what would happen in that setting,
02:28it would be an automatic no.
02:30Because I was young,
02:31and I only knew what I saw.
02:33We have a business,
02:34but the most important thing,
02:36the glue that keeps us together
02:37is the love of this family.
02:39Love is a verb.
02:41It's not a noun.
02:42Business first, yes,
02:44but love of family is above last.
02:47What role do I play here?
02:49Other than being gorgeous.
02:51You're the pretty one?
02:53Yeah, Brittany's the pretty one.
02:54Brittany's the pretty one.
02:56I feel like that's what you get from Monica.
02:58You're just handy.
02:59I am very handy.
03:00You can install anything.
03:01Yeah, I can.
03:02I am a huge communicator.
03:05I'll just always wear that,
03:06let's communicate about it,
03:07let's address it right now, and...
03:10You have to cancel.
03:11Yeah.
03:12I feel like I am like,
03:15a gift to this family,
03:17like almost like the CEO of it.
03:19I was 12 when Brittany was born,
03:21so I babysat them a lot
03:22and really saw them grow up,
03:24so I love to be there
03:25for all three of my siblings,
03:26that's the shoulder to lean on,
03:28give advice,
03:29and just make sure
03:30that everybody feels supported.
03:32Probably, I would say,
03:33like the listener.
03:34I'm very...
03:34I'm either naturally,
03:36maybe because I'm the youngest,
03:38maybe because I'm a Pisces.
03:39I'm just like soft-spoken.
03:43When Nicholas speaks,
03:44you need to stop
03:45because it's something
03:45that's really, really important
03:47and you need to do it.
03:49Something that I probably
03:49want to leave behind
03:51is that there were times
03:53when the business had to take precedence
03:56over the family
03:58because the money wasn't always there.
04:00I think that it's very easy
04:01to walk around and say
04:03that we have a family business
04:05and that it's owed
04:06and it's successful
04:07but really what it takes
04:09to run a business,
04:12it's a lot of work
04:13and it's not for everybody.
04:16Like it was really,
04:17really hard financially at times.
04:20You really protected us from it
04:22but I know that
04:23if I take on this role
04:25of being an entrepreneur
04:25there's going to be times
04:26where I have to do that too.
04:28I think for me,
04:29I just had a baby.
04:31Baby Isola.
04:32And so there's so many things
04:34that you instilled in us
04:36when we were growing up
04:37that I want to instill
04:37in my daughter and my family
04:39but the biggest one
04:41for sure is knowledge and education.
04:44You're right.
04:45It was very guarded.
04:46I was, you know,
04:46educate yourself,
04:48educate my children,
04:49make sure that Tom Notch
04:51in terms of what you would become
04:52and you now can always
04:54choose at any time
04:55to become the employer.
04:56You don't have to be the employee
04:58and that's what I wanted for you.
05:00Are there any things you think
05:01that we could improve on?
05:03Definitely.
05:04I think there's always room
05:05for improvement.
05:06As an adult,
05:07you can think about it.
05:09You don't have to take it.
05:10Let's start with my Chanel.
05:12We have discussed relationships
05:16and where my voice
05:18and what I think about marriage.
05:20Your opinion that it should be
05:22something that's delayed
05:23or something that's never
05:24happening at all.
05:26And for me,
05:27I think the family starts
05:29with marriage.
05:31Tiffany,
05:33I think in taking on the role
05:34as leader and the head
05:35of the family,
05:36switch roles sometimes
05:38and not be so much the leader,
05:41be sometimes the listener
05:43or the follower.
05:44With my Brittany,
05:45how can you improve?
05:46Be a little bit louder
05:47because it's hard
05:48when you are in the middle,
05:50right?
05:50And what you have to say
05:52is really important.
05:54And of course,
05:55my necklace.
05:57Caused a little bit more trouble.
05:59Yeah.
06:00Be the child that's
06:01the problem child for a day.
06:04I'm over this.
06:07Coming into my own confidence
06:08is something I'm working on.
06:10I wonder what we can do
06:13to foster that.
06:15One thing I've learned
06:17is people won't know
06:20what you want
06:21unless you share it.
06:22I feel like that's
06:22the first starting point.
06:24We're working on it
06:25and we're on our journey
06:26and now you know it.
06:28And as you're on your journey,
06:29it's like being conscious.
06:31We're leaving our mark
06:33on this world.
06:34Every time we have
06:35a family meeting,
06:36every time we get together
06:36to talk about the business
06:37and growing it,
06:38I feel like we're creating
06:40that legacy.
06:41And that's what you always
06:41wanted for our family, right?
06:43And that's what I think
06:44our dad always wanted as well.
06:46So we're doing this for him.
06:48Building that legacy,
06:49creating that with you guys
06:50has been the most fulfilling
06:51and rewarding thing
06:52that I've ever done in my life.
06:54And I wouldn't want to do
06:56it with anybody else.
06:57I respect you guys so much.
06:58I really can't wait to see
06:59where we take this business
07:00because I know that
07:01we're destined for great things.
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