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The e-commerce platform highlights cultural goods

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Online shopping has grow to be a lifestyle. Consumers aren’t any longer forced to go to large stores offering the identical choice of clothing and interior design. Conversely, consumers not need to exit of their strategy to access small boutiques where rare goods could be accessed. Multicultural products are at everyone’s fingertips – only one click away.

Gina Lewis is considered one of those individuals who provides interesting and distinctive works of culture.

Lewis is the owner and founding father of FRTWN (Shop Freetown), a digital e-commerce platform. As founder and chief merchandiser, Lewis curates all designers and products for FRTWN’s digital e-commerce platform, which puts emphasis on cultural goods, women-owned brands, designers of color and products ethically made in Africa and the broader diaspora.” Lewis talked to BLACK ENTERPRISES about their inspirations and goals related to the event of e-commerce.

Give us a bit background for many who do not know you.

My name is Gina Lewis. I’m an expert buyer and trader, and currently the founding father of FRTWN. We give attention to style, aesthetics and inspiration from women from the African diaspora.

How would you describe your relationship with fashion? How did it start?

Like many individuals, especially Black creators, I feel that being inspired by your grandmother is all the time a standard thread. Already on the age of seven, my grandmother Dora was sewing my Easter outfits and Halloween costumes from my sketches. It is solely a lifelong journey of curiosity, love of dresses, attraction to clothes and discovery.

How would you describe your current style?

I actually care about maximalism, embellishment and texture. I like conversation topics. They break down barriers, especially after we meet people for the primary time. My favorite designer is Kente Gentlemen, who we stock at FRTWN.

Can you share the teachings you learned from the UM enterprise accelerator program on the University of California, Los Angeles?

FRTWN was chosen for UM’s participation in enterprise accelerator programming. This helped us as we began our FRTWN journey to assume what scaling looked like and to take into consideration key networks and relationships.

There is a language and an ecosystem in startup culture and fundraising culture.

What are the most effective strategies you’ve used as a world home goods buyer and are currently using?

I’d say it’s constant curiosity, constant eye opening. It’s an innate skill set that I feel shows good taste. The next thing is constructing relationships. It’s complicated. I feel I’m just developing a merchant mindset.

How are you able to collaborate with these amazing artisans and creators because the founding father of FRTWN?

Thank God for social media. The spread of Instagram and having the ability to find all these amazing things which can be being created.

How do you already know what the buyer wants?

It’s really eager about what feels unique and different. Overall, our goal is to operate in a distinct segment, so sometimes you are taking some risks, especially at first.

What do I like as a consumer? From this entry point, you engage in conversation with the client. When you simply do that dance, you do not all the time get it right, however it’s moving and dynamic.

In 2021, you launched your first product. What was that?

We began with Madame Wokie from Freetown, Sierra Leone. So I went to Sierra Leone, in 2018 I went to Freetown. I used to be in a position to meet the founder, Maryann Kaikai.

I spent about 10 days there, I just went to the market along with her and visited her store, we did photo shoots and created a curated collection of prom skirts that we ended up styling for somebody to wear the Wearable Art Gala back in 2019.

***

Lewis continues so as to add unique products With All above world to the FRTWN inventory.

“I really try to explore the nuances that make us who we are, what make us different, which is really important to me. We just want to continue to evolve to create excitement that makes people connect with us, find us and enjoy us.”


This article was originally published on : www.blackenterprise.com
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Business and Finance

Can listening to music increase your productivity at work?

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Listening to music can improve our lives in some ways – a lot of us use it while exercising, to regulate our mood, or at work.

But does listening to music within the background while working really increase productivity?

This is a controversial topic. Some people swear by it, others find it painfully distracting. Research confirms that there isn’t a universal answer to this query.

The best way to use music within the workplace relies on several aspects, including your personality traits, what you do and what form of music you listen to.

Here’s how to discover what’s best for you.

Who are you

Your personality has a key influence on whether background music can enhance your productivity or be a distraction within the workplace, which relates to your unique optimal arousal level.

Arousal on this context refers to mental alertness and the brain’s readiness to process latest information. Background music can enhance this.

Tests suggests that being at an optimal level of arousal facilitates a state of “flow”, increasing efficiency and productivity.

Introverts may have less external stimuli – akin to music – to focus well.
Ground photo/Shutterstock

Introverts have already got a high basic level of inner stimulation.

Adding background music may exceed optimal levels, possibly reducing productivity.

On the opposite hand, extroverts have a lower baseline level of internal arousal, in order that they need more external stimulation to perform at optimal levels.

That’s why introverts can look worse than extroverts with music within the background, especially when it is vitally exciting.

What are you doing

Research has shown that the character of the duty performed may also have a big impact.

Due to connections between music and language within the brain, trying to read and write while listening to complex music – especially music with lyrics – may be particularly difficult.

However, for those who’re performing a straightforward or repetitive task, akin to data entry or a manual task, playing music within the background might help with your productivity – especially upbeat and complicated music.

These findings could also be related to the influence of music on motivation and maintaining attention, in addition to activating the reward network within the brain.

A man in headphones arranges flowers in a flower shop
Complex music can increase the efficiency of some easy or manual tasks.
Krakenimages.com/Shutterstock

Same type of music

An necessary and infrequently neglected factor is the form of music you listen to.

Research has shown this fast and loud music could also be more harmful for complex tasks akin to reading comprehension than soft and slow music.

Other studies have shown that listening to music can have a relaxing effect memory advantageswhile aggressive and unsightly music can have the alternative effect.

However, these effects also depend upon your personality, knowledge of music, and musical preferences, so the form of music that works best shall be different for everybody.

Music may be very satisfying and might have a positive effect on attention, mood and motivation.

Choosing music that’s meaningful, rewarding, and uplifting will likely assist you to increase your productivity, especially when performing easy tasks.

A group of violinists playing in an orchestra
The form of music you listen to can have an effect.
Samuela Sianipar/Unsplash

What about complex tasks?

It largely seems that the more complex and demanding the duty, the more distracting the background music may be.

One way to use the motivating and mood-enhancing effects of music to increase productivity within the workplace is to play music when you work.

Using music for improve your mood and focusing your attention before starting a piece task can assist you to grow to be more productive on that task.

Woman listening to music on the train
Playing music right before a task can provide advantages while reducing the danger of distraction.
XiXinXing/Shutterstock

It has been shown that playing music before a demanding task increase language skills especially.

So for those who’re about to do a cognitively demanding reading and writing task and you’re feeling such as you is perhaps distracted by music if it’s playing at the identical time, try listening to it right before you do the duty.

Find what works for you

Music may be each helpful and harmful to productivity within the workplace – the most effective advice is to experiment with different tasks and several types of music to discover what works best for you.

Try experimenting with your favorite music first by completing a sure bet.

Does music assist you to engage in a task? Or do you get distracted and begin delving deeper into the music? Listening to music without lyrics and with a powerful rhythm can assist you to focus on the duty at hand.

If you discover that music distracts you from your work, try scheduling music breaks throughout the day. Listening to music during breaks can improve your mood and increase your motivation, thereby increasing your productivity.

It is recommended to move to the rhythm of the music increase reward processingespecially in social situations.

Dancing has the additional advantage of getting you out of your chair and moving to the beat, so bonus points for those who manage to get a dance break!



This article was originally published on : theconversation.com
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Business and Finance

Allen Media Group begins another round of layoffs

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Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group is undergoing further layoffs. According to an exclusive report published on October 11, the corporate has fired another round. Media Group confirmed that these layoffs were allegedly part of a company-wide growth strategy.

Sources revealed to the socket that Allen Media Group – the owner of several popular affiliated broadcast and news stations – has laid off employees from its weather, news and sports reporting teams. The changes can be visible within the lineup of The Weather Channel, the HBCU Go series, Entertainment Studios and even the final promoting sales departments.

This is just not the primary time employment has been cut at Allen Media Group; earlier this yr, the corporate announced it could be cutting jobs to extend efficiency. An Allen Media Group spokesman said these latest layoffs “are a continuation of the job cuts announced by Allen Media Group in May.”

Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group has revealed that the staffing changes will “improve the positioning of the growing company”.

According to the corporate’s statement, the changes will include “expense and employment reductions across all company departments.” Allen Media Group is a non-public company and has 36 affiliated television stations from ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox. He can be the owner of the digital platform TheGrio.

Although the corporate claims that the newest layoffs are a continuation of those who began in May, sources say that the truth is it’s a very different situation. The dismissed employees were reportedly only informed of the choice, and the uncertainty had an impact on the environment within the affected departments.

In May, the corporate explained in an announcement: “Allen Media Group’s brands continue to perform well, and in many areas our revenue growth significantly outperforms the market.”

“We are adapting these changes to ensure future business opportunities and support our growth strategies in our rapidly growing industry.”


This article was originally published on : www.blackenterprise.com
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Can credit card debt become uncollectible? It depends on the location

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credit cards, personal finance, credit scores, debt


August was a historic moment for Americans. AND report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that Americans owe a record $1.14 trillion on their credit cards. Credit card balances reportedly increased by $27 billion in the second quarter of 2024, a rise of just about 6% from the previous 12 months.

Unfortunately, credit card delinquency rates are also higher. In the second quarter of 2024, 7% of households reported being seriously delinquent on their credit cards (90 days or more) in comparison with 5% at the same time in 2023.

Vonda Copeland, co-owner of Copeland Insurance Agency, he said that with the current economy, high rates of interest and job uncertainty, increasingly more individuals are using credit cards to satisfy basic needs. Unfortunately, it is a terrible recipe for defaulting on payments.

According to them, the average American has a complete balance on their credit card of about $6,501 Experimentand as increasingly more people seek debt relief, questions arise about whether credit card debt can become uncollectible. It seems that it depends on many aspects, including the location of the credit card user.

Factors resulting in bad debt

James Lambridis, founder and CEO of DebtMD, said creditors typically sell unpaid debts to collection agencies inside three to 6 months. Most agencies attempt to withdraw between 20 and 40% of the original balance.

Credit card debt becomes uncollectible after three predominant aspects: the expiration of the statute of limitations, a bankruptcy filing, and a call by creditors to discharge the debt.

If there may be a statute of limitations, it begins when creditors start sending notices and letters looking for payment for the debt.

“If a debt remains unpaid within the statute of limitations – typically three to 10 years depending on the state – the creditor loses the right to sue for repayment,” said Kristy Kim, CEO and co-founder of TomoCredit, adding that the debt is legally time-barred and is legally uncollectible.

Even though creditors lose the right to sue borrowers or collect their wages once the debt becomes uncollectible, Kim says the debt can still appear on your credit report and affect your rating for as much as seven years.


This article was originally published on : www.blackenterprise.com
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