Meet Karlis Thorpe, Cecil Ashley and Crystal Irving of Grown Folks Bizness Podcast in South East San Diego

Today we’d like to introduce you to Karlis Thorpe, Cecil Ashley, Crystal Irving.

Karl, Cec, and Crystar were coworkers turned friends. Karl and Cec shared an office space for about two years and would spend a lot of time clowning each other on social media, taking sneaker photos, and funny videos of each other. The men were avid listeners of the Joe Budden podcast. One day, they were talking and thought, “We could do this!” They realized that something was missing. The men were always cool with Star, but we noticed that when the three of us got together, coworkers would gather around and literally watch and listen to us talk. Karl left a Post It on Star’s computer and asked her to come up to our office when she had a chance. She came upstairs and we asked her to join us on this venture. They thought they were going to have to work to get her on board, but she immediately said, “Yes” with no hesitation. Two years later, we are still going strong.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
There are hills and valleys in any journey. Before we became a podcast, we had a social media. Karl took upon himself to post “days away.” At this point, we didn’t have mics, we didn’t know what app we would use to record, we could not be more unprepared. Luckily, our friend Cam allows us to use his studio space and went on to help us with the technical aspects of having a podcast. With a team of four, we learned that communication and established roles would be key. We’ve made some key adjustments in order to sustain and, quite frankly, roles flip and shift as life goes on. We are also VERY busy people with tons of responsibilities, commitments, family (near and far), friends, personal goals and aspirations, and then some. We’ve had to be open and honest with ourselves and each other. The commitment level has to be there. We have to come in with a team mindset. Our partnership is great, but we have to be flexible with time and respectful of everyone’s outside responsibilities and shifting priorities. We are grateful to have a close relationship, full of love and mutual respect, so even though the rides get bumpy, the good times make everything worthwhile.

Grown Folks Bizness – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We are a team of friends that hosts “Grown Folks Bizness Podcast.” We have honest, open, and authentic conversations about topics that most people can relate to. We try to shine light on our community by inviting in people who are doing great things and making an amazing impact. We are always happy to promote local community events and business. The best part is that we all have very different perspectives, energy levels, backgrounds, and values and we unapologetically bring that to every episode of the podcast.

Cec enjoys laying out the episodes, selecting topics, and ensuring that everyone has a great time and is heard. He also keeps us on track and is the master of the soundboard. He is intentional, thoughtful, and puts his all into ensuring that our listeners consume solid content. Star is a character. Many love Star and others hate that they love Star. She speaks her mind and is always ready to come with a laugh or a song. She is energetic, engaging, and a breath of fresh air. Karl is the wildcard of the group. His genuine nature resonates with many of our listeners, but you never know what you are going to get. Karl is known for “taking it there” and we love him for it.

We enjoy the deep conversations and the lighthearted, goofy conversations with our Grown Folks. One of the best things is hearing their responses to our discussions… even when they have smoke for us. We are most proud that this podcast grew from a simple idea to a sample recording on an iPhone to a product. Like… an actual product. So many people dream of starting a podcast, but few take the leap and even fewer stick with it. Although we (Cec & Star) give Karl grief for the “coming soon” incident, we know that if he hadn’t done that, there is no telling what or where Grown Folks Bizness Podcast would be. But SHHHH!!! Don’t tell Karl that. 🙂

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success would be us making sure that we put our best into every episode that we do. That at the end, we are able to say that we gave it our all and put our all into it. Success is being able to walk down the street and hear people talking to their friends and neighbors and hearing Grown Folks Bizness pop up in their conversation. For us, that looks like setting a goal of reaching a broad range of listeners not just in our cities but worldwide and then taking it to the next level.

Pricing:

• Support us by purchasing merchandise at: www.GrownFolksBizness.BigCartel.com

Contact Info:

• Email: GFBizPodcast@gmail.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GrownFolksBizness
• Twitter: @BiznessFolks @JustCrystar @BigMouthCec
• Other: https://linktr.ee/grownfolksbizness

Image Credit:
@douglasfunnie_

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