- Blog: Black Girl’s Guide to Weight Loss
- Niche: Health/Wellness
- Founder: Erika Nicole Kendall
- Twitter: @bgg2wl
Lately, the Web has been abuzz with conversation surrounding the health issues facing African American women caused in part by obesity and lack of exercise. Erika Nicole Kendall has been a catalyst in those conversations since losing a significant amount of weight and taking control of her health. She is now empowering others to do the same via her award-winning blog, Black Girls’ Guide to Weight Loss.
What started out as a chronicle of Kendall’s weight loss goals, has blossomed into a destination spot for healthy lifestyle inspiration. Her candid and sincere personality has resonated with readers and in 2011 she won three Black Weblog Awards. BGG2WL has also been featured in such notable media outlets as Essence, Huffington Post, Woman’s Day and Yahoo! Health. For her contributions to Web and mission of promoting healthy living for women of color, BlackEnterprise.com recognizes Kendall as part of Black Blogger Month.
I started blogging…
Simply as a way of keeping me accountable for the things I’d learned in my journey. At that time, I’d lost about 90 pounds, and I had a fear of backsliding into the habits that caused me to be over 300lbs in the first place. I figured, if I’d blog about it, I could never tell myself that I didn’t “know” something. It’s like, “Yeah, not only did you know it, but you wrote a thousand words about it. Stop playing yourself.”
It’s important to have a mentor because…
I’m a firm believer in having a guide and a mentor in everything I do in life. It just helps to have people who’ve been there in your corner supporting you coming through the way they have. That being said, when it comes to blogging I have to show love to Patrice [Yursik], founder of Afrobella, who has shown me immense love, support and guidance in regards to growing my blog and becoming more streamlined in my daily operations.
BGG2WL stands out from others in my space because…
My blog [chronicles] my successes, my failures, my emotional epiphanies; the battles I’ve fought against my old self and how I’ve won them. It’s something that a lot of Black women can relate to. It’s helpful for women because it helps them navigate this new space of focusing on themselves instead of everyone and everything else around them. And, although their problems are not my problems, it’s helpful to hear how someone else is coming through. It reminds you that “coming through” is possible.
The biggest mistake I ever made in business was…
Waiting so late to monetize my site. Blogging–writing in general, really–is such a time consuming thing. So, if you’re genuinely putting out quality content, you shouldn’t be afraid to be compensated for your time.
What I learned from that mistake was…
To do my best to partner up with ad networks which reflect my principles as well as value the integrity of my site and my person as much as I do. If you run a sports site, don’t join a beauty network. Not only will it annoy your readers, you also won’t make any money.
You also have to make sure that if you stand for something, make sure that the way in which you monetize your site doesn’t compromise your integrity. If I’m constantly blogging about the perils of processed food; do my readers want to see a Kraft ad at the top of my site? Probably not.
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Networking is important in the digital space because…
Networking is how you find out just how far you can take “this blogg
ing thing.” If you go from your blog to a book to a TV show, it’s highly likely that someone you’ve met along the way will be the one to help you get there or realize you should go for it.The best piece of business advice I ever got was…
Use what you’ve got, to get what you want. Don’t compromise your person, which is the one thing that sets you apart as a blogger, in the hopes that you’ll benefit financially from it. You’d be changing the one reason your readers consistently come to you. Stay true to who you are and find ways to make money with that.
How I measure success is…
By the amount of media outlets reaching out to me. It’s one thing to have an amazing bunch of readers. It’s another thing to have someone who thinks a spotlight should be shone on you.
If I wasn’t blogging today I’d probably be…
Going back to school to get my Ph.D. in ethnomusicology. Music history is my first love. I kind of just accidentally fell into the fitness arena.
My advice for anyone who wants to follow in my footsteps is…
Go into this because this is what you believe in, and never stray from your original goal. Keeping your focus will attract more people than you would if you simply followed every trend you could get your hands on or took every opportunity that came your way.
It’s important for women of color to be healthy because…
So often, we find ourselves as the heads of our households; we are ones passing down our unfiltered habits to our children. If you’ve got an emotional eating habit, you’re probably passing the idea of coping with stress through food to your children. If you eat when you’re bored, you’re teaching your
child that this is how you handle boredom. If you’re a couch potato, you’re teaching your children that this is acceptable. People are always wondering how to “fix childhood obesity,” but I’ve always said that if you change the parents’ habits, you change the children by default.The biggest misconception about being healthy is…
That it’s simply being skinny or that being healthy can be measured by your dress size. Now, mind you, there are extremes on either side, but what we fail to acknowledge is that there’s this glorious middle ground where many of us can rest comfortably in a non-size 4 dress and a clean bill of health… but if you just want to look different, ain’t nothing wrong with that either.
The most common excuse I hear is people don’t have…
Time. As someone who used to spend a good six-to-eight hours in an uncomfortable salon and at least three-to-four hours each evening watching my favorite TV shows, I’m familiar with the idea “we make time for what we want.” When you want it bad enough, very little else will matter.
Be sure to check out the rest of the digital thought leaders as they’re revealed each day by logging on to BlackEnterprise.com/BlackBloggerMonth.