Mother Hen: Karlyn LeBlanc

   The other day I interviewed published author, licensed social worker, and entrepreneur, Karlyn Leblanc.  I always enjoy talking with Karlyn, because I think she is the true definition of a gogetta.  She seems to always know someone, who knows someone, she is the best at multi tasking, and she always finishes what she starts. There is a great deal to be learned from Karlyn, but the thing I think I admire the most is her bluntness.
   Karlyn will say whatever is on her mind and go on about her business. When I walked into her store that day, she was dressed in a big t- shirt and tights. She told me she had been working out. I remembered seeing a gym around the corner so I was trying to ask if she works out there, but at the same time, she was saying, "You want to go work out (while looking me up and down)? You  have put on some extra pounds." Had this been my first time meeting Karlyn I would have been offended but I have grown used to it, because I know her advice is for a reason, so I just told her I cannot afford a gym at that time. Before I left that day, she again asked, " Do you want to work out (looked me up and down)? You going to lose your shape." She went on to say, that the spotlight will be on me a little more, so I should definately pay more attention to my appearance. Upon being asked the second time, most women would have been appalled, but I was not. I know that have been under more stress than usual, and I really have put on extra weight, but sometimes it takes someone else to remind us of what we need to do and also to show us how others view us. Karlyn talking to me about my weight made me realize I need to get on it. When I am truly successful, I want to also be fit.
   I remember once at a premiere party for The Romance Cafe, everyone was required to buy a pair of crotchless panties. One of the women was trying to tell Karlyn she was not going to buy them. Karlyn let her finish what she had to say and then told her, "Everyone buys a pair a crotchless panties," and then went on about her way. That was the funniest thing to me. I would have listened to the woman's excuse, and then made an exception only to later have to make even more exceptions and suffer a serious loss at the end of the night.
   Some people might be offended by her bluntness, and I was once one of them, but I have grown to see that is just Karlyn. She may hurt your feelings sometimes, but it is for the best. I am very grateful for Karlyn.  It was she who lit in my behind so bad that it inspired me to throw myself into my magazine. It was a hot July afternoon, and we were having a heated discussion about some things. I was complaining about my life and other matters while trying to explain why I was planning to wait to pursue my dream of publishing a magazine.  Karlyn was like, "Stop talking about it, just do it." I had a ton of excuses why I was not ready just yet.  One of those reasons, was my fear of trying to deal with women and what their response to my magazine would be like. I do not like failure, so I tend to avoid it if possible. I do not know why but there are two things that stand out to me from that conversation, and they are as follows: people threw Jay- Z's flyers on the ground in his face, and she (Karlyn) just wanted a store on Highland Road. I am still trying to understand how that motivated her, but she now owns Smarty Pants Village, an educational toy store, and it is on Highland. Sometimes when I am discouraged I think about her saying, "I wanted a store on Highland, and everybody thought I was crazy. Now I have a store on Highland, and they wonder how I got it. People are going to talk regardless."
   I think the fact that she already realizes this, is why she is able to be so straightforward. Yet though Karlyn will cut you down to size and she will then give you helpful advice to help better yourself. Now in the mist of this, she is going to tell you what all she likes, as well as all that she does not like. For these reasons, I have dubbed her as Mother Hen, because she will fuss over you.
   Before I actually began recording that day, Karlyn and I talked about some of the struggles of being an entrepreneur. One of those being, that our love ones do not always understand our vision, which is something I can seriously relate to, because my mother only see dollar signs as success. If I am not getting them, why am I wasting my time. Karlyn's advice was to keep my distance, because the negativity can be destructive.
   After the interview we talked some more.  Since starting my magazine, I have began to see more and more people talking about starting a magazine of their own or talking about empowerment. It might seem childish, but I had began to feel kind of betrayed like someone had stolen from me, and though I feel that I can produce a good product, I do not have all the proper resources. I have to improvise  a great bit to keep everything together, so of course I am a little afraid when someone tells me they are about to step into my market, and I know they have more cash. I kind of get that feeling I am sure Ice Cube had in "Barber Shop" when the other shop moved across the street.  Karlyn's advice on this matter was to continue what I am doing but to not talk as much, especially to people who may seem to be stealing my creativity.  She told me of personal experiences with close friends that were similar to this. To be honest, I also found comfort just in knowing that this was more common than I thought.
 There is also some other advice from Karlyn I would like to share, because I found it to be valuable. I am just going to list them.

• "No one is more important than you. Never think anyone is more important to you." I am not sure but I believe Karlyn told me this because I am always trying to be so mindful of others that sometimes I cheat myself. It is quite funny because, Tasha Dangerfield told me the same thing later.
• "Think of people like gift wrapped boxes. They are packaged pretty, but you never know what may be going on with them. You do not know if that package got lost and had to be found, or if it was damaged and had to be rewrapped." I liked this quote a lot, and she actually told me this as I was interviewing Tasha for last month issue. This quote kind of goes hand in hand with the other quote.  I do not think I am a easily intimidated person, but I am a very visual person. If I see someone dressed in designer clothes with a nice car, I automatically assume this person is better than me. Of course, after speaking with them my perception may change, and it normally does, but if I were looking at them like the gift wrapped boxes, I would be better prepared when I find out he or she is no bigger than me. Since she told me this in July, I have began to view people that way, and it has a helped.
• "You do not have tell people all your business.  People want to think they already know everything about you, so let them. You do not have to tell them everything. Besides, with all the search tools today, you do not have to say anything.  They can google you and find out everything, and that is when you have found out you have made a name for yourself. When you can google yourself and get six pages of information, and you are on the first page, that is when you have made a name for yourself. Have you googled yourself?" I think this quote is self explanatory.

   I appreciate Karlyn doing this interview with me as well as our other talks. I know that in spite of her bluntness, Karlyn is still a very private person, so of course, I did not tell everything from our talks, but the fact that she opens up to me, means a great deal to me, because I feel that she considers me a friend, and that is important to me. I believe with her mentoring, I have grown and am still growing. I am blessed to have crossed  paths with her.