EPISODE 3: Les Alfred
GUEST INTRO
Hey everyone, Dominique here! You’ve made it to episode THREE of This Is Fine! You’re officially a frequent flier, and I’m so glad you’re tuning in.
As you’ve probably gathered by now, whether you know me personally or you’ve just listened to the past few episodes, I LOVE sharing things that I love with other people. If there’s something that’s impacted my life for the better, you bet your ass you’re going to be hearing about it. A LOT. It could be a perfume, a food, a workout, a beauty product, a book, a practice or something I’m learning — ANYTHING — and that includes people who’ve made a positive impact on me as well. If I know someone great, I want everyone to know how amazing they are, and to be able to feel what I feel, learn what I learn, all that good stuff, you know?
Y’all, I’m so excited and truly honored to have Lestraundra Alfred here today for our third episode of This Is Fine! She’s the creator and host of the Balanced Black Girl podcast and community, a writer and content creator, a certified personal trainer, yoga instructor, and a fellow Precision Nutrition coach.
I started following Les on Instagram in the early days of my fitness journalism career — back when she was The Balanced Berry! — I immediately had an instagram crush, I loved her energy. I was like wow this girl is fit, she’s gorgeous, she’s got beautiful content, she’s so optimistic but still very real and honest in her storytelling — she’s one of those people on the Internet that you’re like wow if you weren’t so loveable it’d be SO easy to hate you out of pure envy.
I have counted Les as an “internet friend” ever since — she’s always been incredibly supportive and kind even though we’ve never met in person, and I’m perpetually in awe of how this Leo queen does it all. She runs her own business, has grown a community from the ground up, continues to make incredible content on Instagram and Tiktok, built her podcast Balanced Black Girl into a veritable empire, and she STILL takes such good care of herself and stays healthy – meanwhile I’m in three day old sweatpants eating Reese’s ice cream out of the quart. It’s fine! I need to absorb some of her personal discipline through osmosis, maybe on this call during this episode.
Les was one of the biggest inspirations for me when creating This Is Fine. Through her work and her podcast, she’s introduced me to new healthy recipes, other amazing creators in the health and wellness space that I’ve since followed and learned from, and new concepts like Human Design. So I’m not only inspired by her as a fellow businesswoman, founder, and podcaster, but I’m SUCH a fan and consumer of her work and the content she’s putting out into the world. Without further ado, here she is!
INTERVIEW
Dominique Astorino 0:00
Les, welcome. I think this is our first time actually talking outside of a keyboard. I'm so glad you're here.
Les Alfred 0:06
Thank you for having me. Yeah, it's our first time like actually interacting outside of Instagram or Tiktok.
Dominique Astorino 0:11
Yeah, it's been a while. So I did give some context in the intro, but yeah, we've been internet friends when I was at Pop Sugar. Like years ago, I found your account, instant instant crush was like, love this girl, and have watched your career and your podcast blossom. And that's just been such a massive inspiration to me as a business person as a now podcaster a wellness person in general. So thank you for being such an inspiration not just to me, but to everyone in this space.
Les Alfred 0:42
Thank you. I really, really appreciate that. Yeah.
Dominique Astorino 0:45
So first things first. We're called this was fine. Are you fine today? How are you doing today? How are you doing this week?
Les Alfred 0:52
That's a great question. Overall. I felt like I was pretty good this week. Today. I wouldn't say fine. I mean, boarding this, you know, when the Supreme Court Roe v. Wade news came out, so rough day, I really don't feel fine. But I'm hanging in there.
Dominique Astorino 1:09
Yeah. Okay. I'm glad Yeah, we're all kind of in it together right now. It is definitely not a fine day. And not the day we really want to pretend it's fine either. But for the sake of today, thank you for being here anyway, and talking about something completely different to maybe take our minds off of it,
Les Alfred 1:26
which is honestly welcome distractions, welcome.
Dominique Astorino 1:29
Let's talk about literally anything else. Okay, so just jumping right into it. For our listeners who are just getting to know you, your focus is on health, wellness, mental health, great topic for today. And all through the lens of women of color. Can you share a bit about how you got into this space as a whole at first and then what your experience was like that led you to creating Balanced Black Girl?
Les Alfred 1:54
Yeah, so I first became interested in wellness a long time ago when I was in college, and I was not in college recently. Like over a decade,
Dominique Astorino 2:05
I think we're like the same age. So yeah.
Les Alfred 2:08
Sometimes with through voice you can't tell, like Did she graduate last year? She graduated in the last decade. So recently how...
Dominique Astorino 2:16
it feels so heavy when you think about it
Les Alfred 2:17
Yeah. But I first became really interested in wellness. Actually, the summer between my junior and senior year of college, I had my first kind of corporate internship. And it was unlike any other experience I'd ever had. I'd had other jobs that had other internships, but a lot of it was like, very event based. So I was running around and hosting events. I was working in retail, I was working in food service. So that was my first time truly being in an office environment, sitting at a desk and just being sedentary.
Dominique Astorino 2:50
Yeah, totally.
Les Alfred 2:52
I don't think that that is particularly good for anyone from a health standpoint. But from the second I started that internship, my body just rejected the corporate environment. Truly, and I mean, I'm still in a corporate environment, and my body is still rejecting it. And I'm like, I don't know what to tell you.
Dominique Astorino 3:10
It's just surviving now.
Les Alfred 3:12
Truly, I'm like, listen, we're gonna figure this out. But I was honestly like falling asleep at my desk at this internship. I was just so exhausted, I had no energy. And so I was like, Okay, well, maybe if I like work out or something, will that help? Like, maybe if I start eating vegetables? I mean, I was a college student, I was not I literally lived off pizza and champagne
Dominique Astorino 3:33
My body is a trashcan.
Les Alfred 3:34
Yep, it was!
Dominique Astorino 3:35
And champagne! Yes.
Les Alfred 3:36
That was my diet for years for the most part. And so it was like, Okay, maybe if I start like bringing my own lunch from home, or maybe if I start cooking some of my own food that will help and, and it really did. You know, I spent the rest of the summer really starting to cultivate these habits. I started, you know, taking workout classes and getting more comfortable going to the gym and going on walks throughout the day. And I get noticed that I started feeling a lot more energized. And I really liked the way I felt. And so by the time I went back to school for my senior year, it was something that I really wanted to continue on. And circumstances kind of forced me into that. Paying for College was like a really hard, really hard thing for me...
Dominique Astorino 4:17
Still there!
Les Alfred 4:18
And for so many people. And so when I got back to school, I ended up being short on tuition money and needed to cash in the meal plan that I was planning to have. So I ended up cashing in my meal plan to pay off tuition and didn't, you know, wasn't able to go to the cafeteria like I used to, and I was like, Okay, well, maybe I'll start cooking for myself. And if I'm cooking, I may as well try and cook things that are kind of healthy. So I started getting really into blogs, because this was like 2010 So at the time, that was all we had was no Pinterest. There was no Instagram there was no Tiktok so it was truly like googling things. I used to spend a lot of time on stumble upon if anyone remembers
Dominique Astorino 4:55
on Yeah, what an unlocked memory.
Les Alfred 4:57
Such a throwback to my mind. it like recipes and workouts. And it just started snowballing. Before I knew it. I was like making smoothies before my ATM class. Like, I mean, shout out to my roommates because they absolutely hated me. And I was a terrible person for doing that. But I've just been pretty cultivating these habits. And it was kind of a perfect time, right as I was on the cusp of adulthood, because when I graduated, and I just kind of kept doing it. And I just these habits just kept building because I established them at kind of the perfect age to not really have experienced adulthood any other way. And so I was still obsessed with reading all of these wellness blogs. And after a few years, it's like, Well, why don't I start a wellness blog like I studied comms, I worked in comms, I was like, I can write I know just as much about wellness, I'd become a personal trainer, as like I know, just as much as these people who I'm reading about. So why don't I start doing this. And so I started my first blog in 2014. And it has just been like a wild ride ever since.
Dominique Astorino 6:02
The Balanced Berry, I remember very well. So cool. And amazing that you did find it at that time, I wish that I had discovered wellness in college because similarly, I was a human trash can... Domino's and vodka. So it took a while. But yeah, I love your story about feeling more energized and not particularly getting into wellness because you know, you wanted to like lose weight or you know, get swole or whatever I don't know. But because you wanted to feel better in general. And I think that's something that has lasted until now like a lot of fitness trends, wellness trends will come and go ebb and flow. But the idea of just feeling better in general, I think is something that has lasted and has given you, I think, an edge right, like an authority point of view, because that's what you've been the whole time.
Les Alfred 6:51
Yeah, yeah. I mean, I think it's the reason why I'm still here. I think it's the reason why I still have these habits and that they've served me so well.
Dominique Astorino 7:00
Yeah, absolutely. So you've taken all of this from the blog originally. And now you've created your podcast and community. Do you want to talk about the impetus for creating that?
Les Alfred 7:11
Yeah, so I guess kind of picking back up where that story. Just yeah, the second half of that long story was that I'd spent about four years blogging focused really heavily on the fitness space. I mean, that was kind of my thing. I did a lot of fitness content. My Instagram used to be very fitnessy and very all about healthy recipes. So I did that from 2014 until 2018. And in 2018 That was just when the ish really hit the fan. And I just, I don't know if you're like an astrology girlie, but
Dominique Astorino 7:46
oh, 100%
Les Alfred 7:47
That Saturn return hit....
Dominique Astorino 7:48
Yes.
Les Alfred 7:48
And I just ... was kind of a mess.
Dominique Astorino 7:51
Like, I'm like, shocked that you're saying this too, because I don't know if we've ever talked about this personally in 2018. Like kind of early in the year was when I had to take my mental health leave from work and ended up leaving my job and starting over because literally shit hit the fan. And I was like, Yeah, I can't anymore. Damn. Do you have any Virgo, please? I know. You're a Leo. Do you have any Virgo placements?
Les Alfred 8:10
I do. I have a Virgo Mars and Mercury. Yeah. I always joke that I cosplay as a Virgo. I would have been born just a couple days later, I would have been a Virgo. And I feel like that's what I would prefer to be. So I pretend to be a Virgo.
Dominique Astorino 8:25
I feel like you're such a Leo though. Just like ...
Les Alfred 8:27
Really?
Dominique Astorino 8:28
Yeah, like very goddess Queen energy.
Les Alfred 8:30
Oh, yeah. I mean, I appreciate that... view. I'm so used to Leo slander, where everyone's like, Oh, I hate Leos. They're so annoying. They think everything's about them. And I'm like, oh, that's I don't think that's what I do.
Dominique Astorino 8:42
Not at all. No, I get a very different vibe. But I also picked up on obviously as like a multi Virgo. Like, we have like a very similar brain. I've got the sun rising. Mercury and Venus.
Les Alfred 8:58
Oh my god, like a lot of Virgo
Dominique Astorino 9:00
So aggressive. I'm on the Libra cusp with like a Libra moon. This is like way TMI for like anyone listening. I'm so sorry, like wasting time with my birth chart. But yeah, anyway, the Virgo brain, I totally get it. And I feel like that's probably helped you a lot with communication and bringing this into the podcast world.
Les Alfred 9:17
Oh, absolutely. I mean, especially having a Mercury placement in Virgo. So for those who are maybe not as familiar with astrology mercury on your birth chart is what really rules how you communicate. And so having a Virgo placement in mercury means I communicate very clearly and I communicate in a very linear way. And I think that that really helps with storytelling and being able to describe things in a way that people can follow because it's very clear. It's very concise. It's exactly the information you need when you need it and nothing more nothing less.
Dominique Astorino 9:49
Yes, that's a perfect explanation.
Les Alfred 9:51
Yeah, yeah. Shout out to Virgo!
Dominique Astorino 9:54
Shout out to our Virgo girlies or people who are cosplaying is Virgo.
Les Alfred 9:59
Yeah!
Dominique Astorino 10:00
Love that so much. Okay, so circling back, you are in this wellness industry, you're a creator, you're a communicator, you're in your Saturn Return 2018 shit is hitting the fan.
Les Alfred 10:12
Yeah...
Dominique Astorino 10:13
Walk us through it
Les Alfred 10:14
So much is hitting the fan. So at that time, I had gone through kind of multiple career changes. But what had been a constant was fitness. Fitness was something that I was constantly falling back on. If I needed extra money, I could like put out a fitness program or take on personal training clients. And so I always had that kind of in my back pocket throughout my career. And so I took some risks in my career that ended up you know, not really working out. And so by the summer of 2018, I had been laid off from my corporate job thinking that I could make it full time creating content and my finances were like, girl, you absolutely cannot, right now going through like a really horrible breakup. And I ended up having to get a new job that ended up just being really toxic and a very abusive workplace. And so I was just really going through it during that time, I was also making like no money in that very abusive, toxic workplace. And so I was like, okay, the balance buried needs a break, I just need to pause all of this, I needed to pause my own fitness, I needed to pause other people's fitness. And so I just took a break from content. And while I was taking a break, I was getting these messages from women were like, Hey Les, I know, you're like not on Instagram right now. But I'll be really excited for you to come back because I don't really see other black women talk about fitness the way you do or talk about wellness. And you're the only person I see who looks like me who's at these events and talking about these things. And so I was like, okay, so this is this is bigger than just me. And you know, my feelings at this moment. So I was kind of noodling on that. And truly, one day, it just kind of came to me just this download of an idea of like, start a podcast, call it Balanced Black Girl, interview other black women in wellness, to introduce your audience to them so that they can have other people to learn from and follow. And as soon as I got the idea, kind of got the download to do that I immediately started executing, I immediately, like bought the domain, went to Amazon ordered a microphone. And the podcast launched 10 days later. And honestly, the podcast probably would have launched sooner. But that was how long it took iTunes to like, having the podcast live. So they do it instantly. Sometimes it takes a few days, right. But I just went into straight like focus mode and launched the podcast in 10 days.
Dominique Astorino 12:39
Yeah, girl, that's amazing. That took me way longer, I think a little analysis paralysis, but 10 days, and it would have been sooner. And I think that's a really good point for anyone listening who wants to start a podcast of their own. That tip that you just mentioned about Apple? It's not instantaneous. So giving yourself a little time there to speaking of which could you perhaps walk us through the process of how you started recording and producing these episodes? Yeah, so
Les Alfred 13:09
how I did it back then is definitely different than how it is. Now it's come a long way. And if anyone listens to maybe a recent episode, and it goes back and listen to an old episode, you can absolutely hear it. So that's my other thing is like, if you're interested in podcasting, or creating content in any way, don't wait for it to be perfect to truly just start however you can and it will get better. Yeah. At that time when I was first starting the podcast, actually my first few episodes for solo episodes. So I have an episode, introducing myself and the concept of the podcast. And then a couple of the other episodes that I launched with were solo episodes that were actually just blog posts that I had initially written for the Balanced Berry that were a few years old, that I basically just kind of read…
Dominique Astorino 13:52
Awesome.
Les Alfred 13:53
And turned into a podcast.
Dominique Astorino 13:55
Yeah, it's good content.
Les Alfred 13:56
Yeah, it was good content. And you know, it got me started and got me comfortable talking on a mic. And so when I was ready to start reaching out to guests, I actually started by reaching out to people that I already knew. So friends of mine who were black women in the wellness space, which was really helpful because I didn't know what the heck I was doing, people no clue. And so interviewing people that I already knew and already felt comfortable talking to was super helpful for really strengthening that interview muscle to help me get more comfortable. So a lot of that looked like me just reaching out to them seeing if they were interested. They say yes, I was using either zoom or like Skype at the time and I was spending time like combing through their socials combing through their work. Coming up with questions. I would record the episode with them and then I would edit it myself and then I would publish it so all of it was very, very fluid, but it was all me doing kind of all of it and I still do most of it now but it was truly just all me at that time, and also at that time, yeah, it truly was like I actually don't know. But at the time, I also didn't have as much direction with it. So a lot of those; those initial conversations were more so about the guests and about hearing their stories and learning about their experiences, being black women in wellness or brown women in wellness, because I've also interviewed other women of color. And it's more of us just kind of chatting about their lives and their experiences. I think over time, I've definitely become a lot more intentional with the topic of the episode. And now it's a little bit more topic focused, as opposed to guest Yes. But that was how I started off.
Dominique Astorino 15:40
I love that we're like developing your editorial direction and your editorial voice, but just starting with it first. And I think that's really natural to to kind of have that progression from these fluid conversations into something that is, like you said, very topic based. But you raised a really good point where in the early stages, you're doing everything by yourself, I do have my producer here who's listening. So I have one person helping me. But aside from that, like, you know, you do so much when you're running a business, whether it's a podcast or anything else, you wear so many different hats. You have a team now, a lot of people listening, especially those who are interested in podcasting, they're going to be like, Okay, how do I get there? That seems unattainable far away, whatever that block is, it's between them and that point? How did you get to that point of being able to scale and bring on support? Do you have any tips?
Les Alfred 16:31
Yeah, well, I will also be totally transparent that I do not have as much support as I would like. So the main support that I have right now is my editor. Okay, I have a really great, great gal who edits my show. For me, she's amazing. She makes it sound way better. She's worth every penny. But pretty much everything else, I still do myself. And at times, I've had other support or other virtual assistants, and some of those scenarios haven't worked out. But I think first it is important to start doing things on your own so that you understand each part of the process, because it's really hard to teach someone else how to do something that you don't understand. And that's why I've kind of struggled when I have had people on my team in the past where it didn't really work out. It's because I was asking them to do something that, either they didn't know how to do and I didn't know how to teach them how to do it. So I would say, either have experience doing it yourself so that you know how to teach or get somebody who knows things that you don't know,
Dominique Astorino 16:31
Right, like a complementary skill.
Les Alfred 16:34
Exactly, exactly. And then to just start outsourcing one thing at a time. I mean, when I first started outsourcing editing, it's actually someone who followed me on Instagram, who was… she volunteered to do it. She was like, Hey, I'm actually a video editor. And I really want to learn how to work with audio better. Can I edit your show? I was like, That's amazing, too. And so then, you know, so she did that for a few months. And it was super helpful that helped me understand like, how do I get files to someone? And how do I give feedback on edits, and then as soon as I was able to afford it, I've outsourced podcast editing and that's something that I will always outsource. I edited my own show for the first year and I will never again.
Dominique Astorino 18:20
It's a hard process.
Les Alfred 18:22
It's that's editing is the hardest part and the most time consuming. And so …
Dominique Astorino 18:26
What program do you use?
Les Alfred 18:28
I was just using GarageBand.
Dominique Astorino 18:30
Oh, nice. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that's a great tip, though, for someone who is like, yes, it's hard work. But if you have that tool on your computer, which I'm pretty sure it's free with every Apple device, right?
Les Alfred 18:41
Yeah!
Dominique Astorino 18:41
Yeah. It's something that you can get started with right now. Like, you don't have to have the money up front for an editor. And you can jump in if this is something you're passionate about.
Les Alfred 18:49
Exactly. And, you know, I will say though, what's funny is that back when I was editing my own show, I was a lot cleaner with how I talked, I messed up a lot less because I knew that I would have to be the one to fix it. Versus once I started having other people edit, I almost got a little bit sloppy mess up all the time or misspeak because I knew that someone else would clean it up, edit that out, it's fine. When it was me having to do that I was on it. My words were sharp.
Dominique Astorino 19:18
Wow. Yeah, that's, that makes a lot of ... Yeah. Like I'm gonna have to clean up this mess. But I also kind of picked up on something that has supported you has been your network people who have supported you by coming in as guests, people who wanted to learn something and came in to help you with editing. Do you have any networking tips for people who are starting a podcast themselves as well?
Les Alfred 19:41
Yeah, you know, that's a great, great question. I would say podcasting is probably one of the most amazing networking tools that you can have. I think a mistake that people make when they first start podcasting is they start podcasting and start wanting to have these like Famous, in-demand guests right away celebs? Yeah, you launch a podcast and like, want Oprah to come on to your first episode and get really disappointed. And I took the total opposite approach. I truly was interviewing my peers, and they are every bit as amazing and phenomenal as Oprah. And they're also like, a lot more accessible. More likely to say, yes. I think interviewing people and working with people on your podcast who are at where you're at, Issa Rae has a really great quote about this, where she calls it networking across. So networking with people on your level, instead of trying to go immediately to four people who have these huge platforms and all this other stuff is the best advice that I can give, because the big guests will come when you build something that has a base and has listenership that will come. But don't don't discount people who are where you are, because you can have amazing conversations and create amazing content from those guests who can relate to you and who can probably relate to your audience a little bit better.
Dominique Astorino 21:13
Such a good tip, seriously. And I love this because, because I am the way that I am, I did a big survey before he started this just to get, you know, listener habits and preferences. And you know, where are you listening to podcasts? And what kind of episodes do you like, blah, blah, blah. So one of the things that came across in my insights of the data was people really care just about a good conversation, that it's more than a celebrity or a big name. If it's a good story, it's… it just comes down to the storytelling. And I feel like you relate to that. We're talking a lot about storytelling in general. If the story is good, people are going to be engaged. And like you were saying, it doesn't have to be Oprah, even though that would be incredible. You know, who wouldn't want to listen to her some more? But you know, it's the content. And it's the story. And it's the connection and the energy and that doesn't have to come from, you know, one particular person with X amount of followers. So Excellent. Excellent tip. Thank you for that one.
Les Alfred 22:09
Yeah, so I'll say like, I have been podcasting. For a while I've had guests who kind of have platforms of all sizes, and big guests do not necessarily get you more listeners, they don't really think they do, they do not have the conversations. Yes.
Dominique Astorino 22:26
Okay. So I — you know that I used to host a podcast for another platform or another publisher. And we had a huge celebrity for that industry on one of the episodes. And it was not the top performer. The top performer was actually my very dear friend Shannon, who was on episode one of this podcast, my astrologer bestie, that was our top episode, people wanted to hear the content versus the celebrity. So yeah, don't get discouraged. Anyone listening. If you feel like you can't get you know, a big name with a big following. It's not necessarily your path to success.
Les Alfred 22:58
Yep.
Dominique Astorino 22:59
So now you're putting out two episodes a week. That is so much. How do you do this? Oh, you were okay. Not any more? Okay.
Les Alfred 23:09
That was unsustainable. Okay, good. Yeah. For me as a person who's like working full time and still predominantly a team of one. So when I was doing trips this week, I just wasn't really sleeping a lot. And I was like, Yeah, you know, for a wellness podcast. I should maybe sleep, should be well… I should be well; this was making me unwell. So now I do one episode a week, but that 's still definitely a lift. And the way I do that is I really dialed in my processes. So one, I'm usually working on episodes, probably six to eight weeks before they are released. Yeah, I don't I when I first started and for a very long time, I would record an episode and put it out the next week and record an episode, put it out the next week. And that's totally fine when you're getting started. But especially if you have an interview based podcast, if it's something that you want to be ongoing, it's really hard to do that because people need to reschedule, things come up, people cancel, people forget that they will attend an interview with you. Audio gets messed up, I mean, all of these things that have all happened to me can happen that can really disrupt the flow of your show, and it was causing so much stress doing everything. So last minute. So now I prefer to batch things. So I will usually brainstorm or ideate about six episode topics at a time, I will determine who I want the guests to be I will reach out to those guests, you know, a month or two in advance of when I'm planning to record to get the time booked. And then I will batch kind of the different tasks so when I'm doing a research and scripting to learn more about a guest I will batch kind of the scripts and the questions, you know, all at once. So I'll spend a week kind of focusing on that that, when I record I will usually block off about three days each month that also correspond with like the right time in my cycle to be communicating and recording. But that's like a whole different thing cycle thinking could be its own episode. Yeah.
Dominique Astorino 25:16
Is it? Is it on BBG yet?
Les Alfred 25:19
It is, I've done episodes about cycle syncing, I haven't talked to as much about work. But yeah.
Dominique Astorino 25:24
That would be so cool.
Les Alfred 25:25
Get more into that. But I will block off a few specific days on my calendar that are available for interviews. And if there is a guest who truly can't make that work, I'm happy to like, be flexible and accommodate, but usually they can. And I have that whole process of getting guests on the show down to kind of a science. So I have like my Scheduling Calendar, I like to use Acuity, people can use anything like Calendly, whatever that's updated with my availability to record for that month, I will reach out to guests at a certain time based off of when I kind of need their episode recorded by and before we actually book the episode, they have to fill out a form that just gets all of their information upfront. So I'm getting their contact information, I'm getting their bio, I'm getting their headshots, I'm having them sign a little waiver that gives me you know, permission to use their likeness in the Show All before they even book the episode, once they book, they then get an automated confirmation that sends them to a guest packet, which just gives them more information about like, what to record and what to do kind of for that day of, and then they get automated reminders. I think one like 48 hours before the interview, want 24 hours before the interview that has a link to the software that I use to book so it's all super automated. I'm never going back and forth with people trying to figure out scheduling, I'm not going back and forth with people trying to chase down someone's bio or headshot, right? Because I get all of that at once. And that has made it so much easier.
Dominique Astorino 26:58
Holy shit. I'm like, just like taking notes… like thank you, Professor. Your brain is a machine. I love it.
Les Alfred 27:07
i Yeah, that's how I operate. Wow.
Dominique Astorino 27:09
Yeah, this is obviously giving me life based on how my brain operates. So thank you for this lesson. That's insane. Okay, so like another podcast related question. You've built a brand, right? You've built this brand that's based on you as a person, your personality and your community. Right. And I feel like that, at least from my perspective, can feel extremely intimidating when your personality is a huge part of your brand. And it might take a toll on mental health. Is that the same for you? Like, do you have this kind of like, okay, this brand in this business is attached to who I am.
Les Alfred 27:46
I have Yeah, definitely struggled with that. And it's something that I've gone back and forth with and I think in Balanced Black Girl, in its evolution, there have been times where I've been more forefront and putting myself in the brand, right. And then there's also been a lot of times where I've been kind of hiding behind the brand. And there's less of me, there will be long stretches of time where on the podcast, it's all interviews and like no solo episodes, I see a long stretch of all interviews and no solos, that's an indication that Les is hiding, okay? If there are more solo episodes, and I'm being a little bit more upfront and talking and putting myself a little bit more out there, that's like a time where I'm feeling more comfortable with it.. And I used to give myself a hard time about those times when I wasn't feeling as comfortable and feel like I had to be at the forefront all the time. And now I'm actually realizing that, I don't know, it's okay, if I'm not at the forefront, sometimes, sometimes, it's okay, if I am I'm kind of embracing that as seasons of what makes me feel well, and what makes me feel safe and supported. And sometimes, like me being all up in the mix is not and so then I focus more on guests. And then sometimes I think that I do have a valuable perspective about a certain topic, or I've researched something, and I'm really passionate about it and want to be the one to share it with my audience. So then I will be you know, more in the forefront. So I kind of let it flow depending on how I'm feeling. But it's definitely impacted my mental health at different times. And that's usually when I know it's time to take a step back,
Dominique Astorino 29:15
what a beautiful strategy of approaching it like a season or a cycle and having those pieces in place. So you can scale back a little bit when you need to. I feel like that's another excellent tip for anyone listening. You know, if you're going to set this up, maybe give yourself the opportunity. If you were thinking that you were going to do a lot of solo episodes, consider, you know, integrating more interviews or, you know, other formats that might give you a chance to kind of retreat a little bit into yourself so you can protect your peace.
Les Alfred 29:42
Yes.
Dominique Astorino 29:43
Do you have any other thoughts on solo versus interview episodes?
Les Alfred 29:48
Yeah, I think what's interesting is that the feedback that I get from my audience is that they love solo episodes.
Dominique Astorino 29:58
Oh, nice.
Les Alfred 30:00
And what I, as a creator of love is interviewing people.
Dominique Astorino 30:04
Right there with you. I love talking to people.
Les Alfred 30:07
Interviews are just so much more fun to me. Like I get to sit and have a conversation with someone who has an expertise in something that I probably don't know much about and just learn from them. Like that is so fun to me. But from the audience perspective, I kind of get where they're coming from when they're like, You are the person I built this bond with I want to hear from you. And so I try to balance it a bit. You know, I think balance like are wouldn't be what it was, if it weren't for interviews. So while I appreciate that people do love my solo episodes, and I take that for the compliment that it is, I know, I wouldn't have the listenership I have if I never had interviews. That's, that's a big part of the brand. So I do I try to balance it. And I probably now have a more even split between solos and interviews. But I think it's all about understanding what your audience resonates with. And then also what you as a host are comfortable with
Dominique Astorino 30:59
Totally Well, it's in your title! Balance.
Les Alfred 31:01
You got to have a balance on the table. Absolutely. Exactly.
Dominique Astorino 31:05
Kind of scaling back a little bit to the business as a whole. I think we both are in that like sub sect of like younger millennial that went through Girlboss gaslight gatekeep era; being a woman who created her own business, her own company. What does that look like to you now, like being a woman in business? It's not Girlboss anymore, like how has this energy, vibe changed, grown, developed for you?
Les Alfred 31:31
Totally. Yeah, I have so many thoughts about this, because I did work for a company that was female lead, and was very centered on all of that, but it was truly the most toxic place I've ever worked. And it's such a bummer, so disappointing. And what that experience really taught me was that if you have someone who is either a woman or a person of color, or a another kind of underrepresented demographic, leading a business, but doing the same old practices that we know exploit people and are not good for anybody, it doesn't make it any better. And so I see having my own business as an invitation to do things differently. It's an invitation to not repeat the same business practices that I've seen other people do, if I know that they're harmful, if I know that they're exploiting people changing who's doing the harm doesn't make it any less harmful. And I think that's where the Girlboss era kind of met its downfall,
Dominique Astorino 32:35
right? Absolutely.
Les Alfred 32:36
People realize that we're like, wait, but they're just doing the exact same thing. Now. I do think that there's also something to women being held under more scrutiny and facing harsher consequences for a lot of things that men in business have done. And I think that's absolutely valid. And I think it's it's not fair, but it also doesn't absolve harm. So I think for me, having a business has really been all about, am I having a business that I would want to work for, like I everybody who starts a business does so because they either have an idea or a passion, or maybe they don't like where they work, or they want something to be different. So it's truly your opportunity to rewrite the rules and to make things different.
Dominique Astorino 33:19
Yes. Break the Cycle.
Les Alfred 33:21
Yeah.
Dominique Astorino 33:21
Love that. Thank you so much. Seriously, you came on here. Season One. So early in the game, you've offered support. For me, for the listeners, like this is such an incredible gift of your time of your wisdom. For our listeners who would like to connect more with you learn from you. Where can they find you beyond the podcast?
Les Alfred 33:42
Yes. So the podcast is Balanced Black Girl, you can listen to it every tuesday wherever you're listening to this. You can connect with me on Instagram. I'm @balancedles is my account or @balancedblackgirlpodcast is my podcast account. And then I've been doing more of the TikTok lately. I can say I love the clock app. And I'm probably going to be prioritizing the clock app more so you can find me at @balancedles. Yeah. And then I'm always sharing what I'm up to there. Whether it's sharing my newsletter, sharing the podcast, sharing the blog, I do still do all of those things. So you can catch me in those places as well.
Dominique Astorino 34:19
I know I've been following your TikTok ever since I got a TikTok. Like absorbing all the information I can make new So learn more about this cycle syncing stuff. So I'm looking forward to even more on that on the podcast and TikTok. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. This has been such a joy. I so appreciate you.
Les Alfred 34:37
Thank you so much for having me.
OUTRO
Isn’t she awesome?! I love her. OK so now that we’re at the end of this episode, if you haven’t hit subscribe or download or left a review, we’d love it if you did that real quick before heading to Les’s podcast, Balanced Black Girl. She’s also on whatever app you’re currently using to listen to this episode! Go check her series out now and experience more of her magic.
Tune in next week — we’re going to be sticking to an every Wednesday schedule from here on out, because we love consistency — next episode we’re talking about confidence, insecurities, and feeling better about yourself with a coaching session from a certified mindset and confidence coach. I KNOW right!
If you’d like to support This Is Fine! And help us continue these conversations, you can join our Patreon at patreon dot com slash this is fine podcast, all one word. We’re going to be rolling out merch, bonus episodes, health coaching tips from yours truly, and curated shopping lists and guides. We’d also love to hear from you — if there’s something you’d like to see on Patreon, or a topic you’d like us to cover on the show, you can email us at imfine@thisisfinepodcast.com. Tell us what you’re feeling and what you’re thinking about how you feel! OK TA TA FOR NOW, BE-BESSSS — byeeeee!
