Welcome to A Well-Designed Business, and welcome to another conversation in our Black Lives Matter series! Albie Buabeng, a specialist in e-design, joins LuAnn to share the internal struggle she had when she first began her design firm, and her desire to be part of the change in our world so that her daughter’s generation reaps the benefits. This is one #smartlady who walks the talk. Albie also shares some valuable resources, so don’t miss this! As both interior designer and content creator, Albie's passion for decoding spaces is the culmination of nearly a decade of retail visual merchandising and freelance marketing, sprinkled with a lifetime of experiences. Using her background of space design and storytelling, Albie took her real-life lessons and launched an online interior design service. Her love of design has since evolved into a destination for inspiration centered around her blog, video content, social media, podcast, and self-published book, in addition to her current role as the marketing coordinator for a Seattle-based interior design firm. Show Highlights: The impact of Albie’s initiative with #sharethemicnowhomeedition Albie’s deeper exploration into the accessibility of beautifully designed homes How our reactions are being internalized by our audiences that are watching us Albie relates her experience with her first black client “Brown girls aren’t ballerinas” - Albie shares a conversation with her daughter A gut-punch moment: Going into a profession that is so personal only to find out that the black community felt completely disconnected and neglected from it The importance of normalizing these hard conversations No matter how small your part may seem, it still matters. Connect with Albie! Albie’s Instagram Albie’s YouTube Albie’s Website Albie’s Email  Albie’s Book, which just celebrated its first anniversary! The Design Influence podcast resumes this fall! #sharethemicnowhomeedition A Special Note from Albie: First and foremost, I urge everyone to look up their local (city) NAACP chapter, BLM, and bond fund. National contributions are amazing, but there's so much we can do within our own zip codes, especially to help people already doing the work.  Secondly, as creatives, find your local creative institutions to support and/or work with. We do not always know how to step into the arena of activism because we believe it has to be some grand gesture like a large donation and/or protesting, but that just isn't the case. For example, here in Washington, we have the Northwest African American Museum. In southern New Jersey, there's the African American Heritage Museum.  Keeping the culture and history alive for current and upcoming generations is as important as dismantling broken systems.  Lastly, on my blog I compiled two separate lists of books on diversity & racism -- one for adults and one for kids.  Links : Is Chairman of the Board Right for YOUR Business? LuAnn Nigara COB LuAnn Live - Coming February 2021 Join the E-Mail List to Get Updates! Design-Build For Profit - Coming Late Summer / Early Fall! With Jenny Slingerland of Black Ink Interiors Get on the Email List HERE! Increase Your Confidence, Increase Your Profits Registration Opening in August, Course Starts in September LuAnn University The Profit Is In The Numbers The Profit Is In The Numbers 101 with Kathleen Anderson The Profit Is In The Numbers 102 with Peter Lang Coming September 2020! Early Bird Registration Sept 4 - Sept 20 Classes: Sept 22 - Sept 24 Get the Goodies! - For checklists, resources, and extra goodies! Courses and Products to Dive Deep into Specific Elements of Your Business LuAnn’s Favorite Resources Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well - Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action    Book 2: A Well-Designed Business - The Power Talk Friday Experts LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Podcast - Please SUBSCRIBE, Rate & Review! LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday A Big THANK YOU to This Podcast Sponsor: Jaipur Living’s