RHOA Cynthia & Peter Thomas Tell All In New Book

Congrats to Cynthia! She's the first of the Real Housewives of Atlanta to step into the literary world and write a book. In Carry-On Baggage: Our Nonstop Flight, Cynthia and her husband, Peter, are candid about the stories behind their crazy relationship, Peter's failed businesses, and their engagement scandal. The book is slated to be released in July and will be published by Griffen Scott Press, LLC.

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Tionna Smalls Lands MTV Show Based On Her Book!

We all know the feisty Tionna Smalls as the matchmaker who tried to help Chilli find a man on her 2010 reality show What Chilli Wants. Did you girls know that her career started with a self-published book? Of course you didn't. You're welcome. :)
Tionna published her first book titled Girl, Get Your Mind Right! in 2007 which landed her jobs with Gawker and Radar Online as a relationship expert columnist. This helped build buzz and sales for Girl, Get Your Mind Right! and caught the attention of execs at VH1.
Fast forward to today and Miss Smalls has become an official boss chick and mogul. Not only has her publishing company, Talk Dat Ish Books, signed book deals with Neffe Pugh (Keyshia Cole's sister) and Tashera Simmons (DMX's ex-wife) but she has her own jewelry boutique and brand new show on MTV named after the book that started it all.
Girl, Get Your Mind Right the TV show premiers on MTV on May 20th at 6pm. It will be a daily, half hour show that pinpoints women's dating flaws and helps them fix them. Tionna Smalls has made history, too. Her show is the very first show in MTV history to show daily and is produced by and starring a black woman.
I love Tionna Smalls. She is one of the women entrepreneurs I look to as an inspiration. I'm am so happy for her and proud of the big moves she's making. I will be tuned in on the 20th for this one. Will you? Check out the trailer:

Girl Get Your Mind Right - Full Episodes

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How To Write a Book

People always ask me how they can write a book. I love this video. It is a simple explanation on how to do it.

Why You Need a Book Editor

The Season Premier of 'Rashida Confidential'

Last week I debuted my podcast 'Rashida Confidential'. My first interview was with model & philanthropist, Brittany Starz about the business of modeling. It's much more than having a nice body and a pretty face. Make sure you subscribe to my podcast so you never miss an episode!

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Beyonce & Oprah are the richest women in Hollywood!

Forbes recently issued it's list for the top 10 female earners in Hollywood. I was not surprised to find out that Beyonce and Oprah were the top two on the list. I'm all about empowerment for black women and this is just another good look for us. I aspire to have careers like these two ladies. Not just because of the money (although that helps!) but because they are successful entrepreneurs.For the complete list and to see just how many millions these ladies made over the past year check out this article on the YBF blog.

A Lesson In Branding: Antoine Dodson

One of the most important words that every business woman must know and understand is BRANDING. Whether you're selling a product or yourself you have to know what your brand is and how you're going to get people to recognize and give you money in exchange for it. This is the stage I'm at in my business so I've read tons of blogs and books on the subject. I'm still tweaking exactly what the ReallyRashida brand is, but one person who has branded himself perfectly is internet sensation Antoine Dodson. The video above made this dude somewhat of a celebrity. He went from doing an interview about how somebody tried to rape his sister in the projects to performing on 106 & Park. He even has an album and a book in the works!

Here's what we all can learn about branding from Antoine:

• Don't be scared to be you. No matter what you do some people will love you and some won't. The point is to get their attention, show them what you got, and be memorable. Antoine has been called a homo thug and everything else under the sun, but he is still smiling that toothy grin of his all over TV.
• Embrace what makes you unique. Be proud of your talents, whatever they are. It could be a singing like Beyonce' or burping the alphabet. Just like one man's trash is another man's treasure, one girl's pointless gesture is another girl's talent. Antoine doesn't give a damn about who thinks he has talent or not. His song has the entire nation buzzing and he's proud of that.
• Everybody is a star in their own right. Antoine is living proof that anybody can have their 15 minutes of fame, even you. I know you want more than your 15 minutes so instead of chasing fame be dedicated to building a solid brand. Learn how to recognize opportunites and grab any that are benefitial to your brand. Surround yourself with people that will help take your career to the top of the charts.

So take this advice, let it marinate, then act on it. If you don't "you are so dumb. You are really dumb. For real." Lol. (Corny, I know...)