Brown Ambition

In this special Friday episode, Mandi celebrates the BA Fam, shares the origin story behind Brown Ambition, and introduces Brown Buzz—your new end-of-week roundup of the headlines shaping your money, career, culture, and life.
This week on Brown Buzz:
• The Federal Reserve raised interest rates. What does that mean for credit-card debt, variable-rate loans, savings accounts, and your investments?
• More job seekers are getting interviewed by AI bots instead of actual humans. Mandi shares how to navigate the robot-filled hiring process—and why your real-life network matters more than ever.
• Ed Sheeran’s tour drama: Macklemore was removed from the tour after speaking out for Palestine, other artists walked away, and the controversy raises bigger questions about neutrality, power, and who gets to speak.
• Rep. Jasmine Crockett is facing backlash after honoring Chris Brown at a Texas concert. Mandi unpacks the difference between fandom, Black joy, public recognition, and accountability.
• Plus, a Brown Boost for Rep. Joyce Beatty after her response to President Donald Trump.

Join the BA Book Club
The Brown Ambition Book Club is back! Our September/October pick is Love, Me: A Letter to Black Women in a Toxic Country, Career, and Relationship by Tiffany D. Cross.

Join the book club here:
https://mandimoney.myflodesk.com/r77pw75z5q
Sign up to receive details about the virtual October book-club meetup. The invitation and event details will go to BA Fam who join through the link.

Stay connected
Have a headline, question, or topic you want on a future Brown Buzz? Email brownambitionpodcast@gmail.com, tag @brownambitionpodcast on Instagram, or send a DM @brownambitionpodcast

Follow and subscribe to Brown Ambition, and come back every Wednesday for guest conversations and every Friday for Brown Buzz.
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What happens when the ambition that helped you build your life starts costing you your well-being?
For many ambitious women, especially women of color, success can come with a hidden cost: saying yes when we’re exhausted, pushing through when our bodies are asking us to slow down, and measuring our worth by how much we can accomplish. But wellness isn’t just about massages and self-care days. Sometimes it looks like setting boundaries, asking for help, knowing what you actually need, and giving yourself permission to come back to yourself.
In this episode, Koya Webb joins Mandi Money to talk about the connection between wellness, ambition, money, and leadership. She opens up about losing her mother while writing her latest book, how grief changed the way she thinks about success and family, and why she’s learning to embrace a new version of herself.
Koya also shares the entrepreneurial lessons she learned building her wellness business—from hiring and structuring a team to finding mentors and creating a financial design that helps her determine what she actually needs to earn and how much her time is worth.
Plus, we talk about the rituals that can help us manage stress, process difficult experiences, and stop abandoning ourselves in the name of ambition.
In this episode:
Why ambition can sometimes lead to self-abandonment

What grief taught Koya about success, family, and living authentically

Building a wellness business from the ground up

Why you don’t need a huge team to build a successful business

The importance of structure, mentorship, and knowing when to ask for help

Koya’s approach to financial well-being and “financial design”

How to determine what you actually need to earn

Using breathwork, affirmations, and other rituals to regulate stress

Why women of color need tools to navigate difficult workplaces and relationships

Learning to process pain instead of carrying it

How to recognize when you’re self-abandoning for the sake of success

Why sometimes the goal isn’t to leave—it’s to learn how to stay without losing yourself

Finding the wisdom in your wounds and remembering that you can always come back

Connect With Koya
Follow Koya Webb on Instagram: @koyawebb
Learn more about Koya’s work and get her new book, Well-Being Rituals: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1394387229?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback

Connect With Brown Ambition
Follow us on Instagram: @brownambitionpodcast
Follow Mandi: @mandimoney

If this episode spoke to you, share it with a friend who is building a big life — and needs permission to protect her peace while she does it.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What happens when you spend years pouring everything into your career, relationships, and success only to realize they aren’t pouring the same love back into you?
In this episode of Brown Ambition, Mandi sits down with journalist and author Tiffany D. Cross to talk about her new book, Love, Me: A Letter to Black Women in a Toxic Country, Career, and Relationship.
Tiffany opens up about her very public exit from MSNBC, rebuilding her life after career heartbreak, and the difficult process of learning to recognize her own value. Together, Mandi and Tiffany explore the parallels between toxic workplaces and toxic relationships—and why so many of us chase validation through promotions, titles, money, and other people’s approval.
They also talk about financial security, building your own table instead of waiting for a seat, the power of community, and why Black women need to think differently about career success, wealth, and what we’re building for the next generation.
Plus, Tiffany makes a passionate case for putting down the phone, picking up a book, and remembering that the algorithm is not the blueprint.
In this episode:
Tiffany Cross on leaving MSNBC and starting over

Career burnout, workplace validation, and knowing your worth

Toxic relationships and toxic workplaces

Financial security and building wealth

Creating your own opportunities instead of waiting for a seat

Community, Black women, and building for the next generation

Why reading and learning still matter in the age of social media

BOOK CLUB ANNOUNCEMENT: Also, we're thrilled to announce the Brown Ambition Book Club is back! And Tiffany's book is our September/October selection. We're giving 5 lucky listeners a FREE copy -- be sure to listen to the full episode to find out how to get yours!
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

September can be a powerful time to get visible, activate your network, and pursue the next role—but smart career strategy is not just about landing a new job. It is also about protecting your options before year-end budget decisions and possible restructurings. In this solo episode, Mandi shares how to use the fall hiring window, make yourself easier to hire, and create a no-panic layoff-readiness plan for your career and your money.

In this episode, Mandi covers:
• How to get specific about the role and work you want next
• Why real conversations can be more useful than online salary data alone
• A simple outreach script to reconnect with your network
• How to refresh your résumé and LinkedIn without overthinking either one
• Why 2–5 strong-fit applications can beat dozens of random ones
• How to prepare for possible reorgs or layoffs without spiraling
• Why you cannot afford to be the best-kept secret in your industry

Get the free September Career Reset Toolkit
https://mandimoney.myflodesk.com/september

Want every script and checklist from this episode in one place? Download Mandi’s free September Career Reset Toolkit, including the target-role Mad Lib, networking and reconnect-message templates, résumé and LinkedIn refresh checklist, job-search pipeline tracker, raise and promotion conversation prompts, and layoff-readiness plan.

>>> Start here: two scripts from today’s episode

Define your target role

“I am targeting [role] opportunities in [industry or type of company] where I can use [two to three skills] to help solve [a specific business problem].”

Reconnect with someone in your network

“Hey [Name], I hope you had a good summer. I’ve been thinking about the work I want to focus on next, and I’m exploring [target role or field]. I’ve always respected your perspective on [specific reason]. If you have 20 minutes this month, I’d love to catch up and hear what you’re seeing in the industry. No pressure at all if your calendar is packed.”

The 15-second LinkedIn test:
If a hiring manager saw your LinkedIn profile for 15 seconds, could they tell what you do, who you help, and what results you create?

Stay connected
• Download Mandi’s Nail Your Negotiation Toolkit for 25+ scripts to help you negotiate compensation and advocate for yourself.: https://www.mandimoney.com/shop/p/nail-the-negotiation-17-word-for-word-scripts-to-help-you-negotiate-like-a-boss-without-ever-leaving-money-on-the-table-again

• Subscribe to the Brown Ambition newsletter.
• Watch full-length Brown Ambition video episodes on YouTube.
• Follow Brown Ambition on Instagram: @brownambitionpodcast
• Follow Mandi on Instagram:
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This week's BA Q&A, Mandi is joined by friend of the show Naseema McElroy of Financially Intentional to answer a question from Serena, a 28-year-old multi-passionate entrepreneur torn between beauty and holistic health.
Naseema drops gems on the power of niching down, embracing your unique story, and positioning yourself as a Key Person of Influence. If you’re feeling stuck between passions and need clarity on how to turn your ideas into a purposeful business, this episode is for you.
🔑 Highlights:
Why failing fast is essential to the entrepreneurial journey

How to build your business by owning your story and defining your niche

📚 Book rec: Key Person of Influence by Daniel Priestley (as recommended by Naseema)

💌 Got a question for the show?
Email us at brownambitionpodcast@gmail.com or DM us on IG @brownambitionpodcast
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.