Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kendall McGill . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Kendall, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
I’d say I got my resilience from my grandmother. She was a force to be reckoned with. When she was 14 years old she fell pregnant with my mother and this was during the heat of the Jim Crow era. Though she had dreams of becoming a teacher, unfortunately, but fortunately she made great sacrifices for her family. My aunts never talk about having felt any lack whether financially, emotionally or physically. She always made a way!
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
My name is Kendall but a lot of people call me “KB” as my middle name is Bobbie. I work in healthcare as a project manager and recently got my PMP certification. It was a huge milestone in my career because it’s something I’d wanted for over five years but kept putting off. A fear of failure held me back but a few weeks ago I just decided to go for it and passed! I’m also on a journey to pay off A LOT of debt! Like a lot of others within my generation I have student loans, I had a car payment and I have tens of thousands of dollars in credit card debt. Sharing my journey with my followers helps me make a connection that most people don’t. I get really honest and vulnerable about my past mistakes, financial trauma, and goals. Right now I feel like I’m still in the dreamer phase. People ask me if I’ll create a budget planner book or whether I host mentorship calls, but it’s not something I’ve started executing yet. I hope to put my pen to pad soon, though.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Honesty, Passion and a Hustle mentality. I’m from Baltimore so I feel like we’re naturally cut from a different cloth. It’s a tough place to be raised but a lot of times those environments also breed people who use their desire to become more than what they say our city is for good!
When I was in college I found out I was pregnant at 19 years old. Instead of getting an abortion or leaving school, I altered my schedule so my classes would be in the mornings and I got a part time job working in the afternoons. I used an old hobby of mine (crochet) to start a business and made thousands of dollars creating crop tops, bathing suits, and even skirts, pants and hats for my peers. When they were going on spring break they knew that I had their back with some custom crochet pieces. I recorded myself throughout the process and put the videos on YouTube, which also generated income. I didn’t have a choice but to figure it out! I’ve always been a driven person with ambition so once my wheels got spinning we were gone!
I graduated from college, made my way in corporate America and now I own 2 homes and make six figures. I don’t think that would have happened if I wasn’t passionate about my journey or didn’t have that ‘throw me in the jungle and I’ll come out with a fur coat’ mentality.
Also, last year I had the goal of making more money online and becoming a “real” content creator. I went from 1300 followers to 2000, then 5000, 9000, now 19000 and counting. I try my best to be consistent and disciplined. I have the mindset that ‘This has to work’ and it does. When it doesn’t, I figure out why and make changes so that it can. A lot of people have asked me how I was able to grow my social media platforms, especially instagram, so quickly and I believe it was genuinely by being myself. Women reach out to me every week and say that they appreciate my realness. I think we’re in a day of time where a lot of people desire to keep up with the Jones’ not knowing that the Jones’ have roaches! I don’t make it seem like I live a lifestyle that I don’t but there’s also still a lot to aspire to. I was driving a 2022 fully loaded Kia Sportage truck and gave it up for a 2012 salvaged title car that I found on Facebook marketplace for $3000. You don’t see that often, but I was dedicated to saving money, paying off debt and building generational wealth so not only did I make that decision but I shared it with people. I think we all can work on remembering that social media is a capsule. It’s not a snow globe. It’s impossible to see everything that’s inside so every once in a while take a break and do something in real life.
Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
Therapy has helped me tremendously over the years. Of course within the black community we’re just recently coming to a consensus that going to see “the lady” doesn’t mean you’re crazy. It might, but even still it’s okay to seek help byway of a professional. When I’m feeling overwhelmed I’ve learned to control my thoughts, meditate, breathe slowly and deeply, and power through it. I enjoy journaling and sometimes I choose to work through the issue with a friend. 100% of the time I’ve figured it out or that hard thing got easier.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bobbiebeaut?igsh=ZmVhbjA2cDZqODNm&utm_source=qr
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@BobbieBeaut?si=ZDESHSujq0Bia4xG
- Other: TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@bobbiebeaut?_t=8jvZR4INWQw&_r=1
Image Credits
Kendall McGill Imani Shipp
