She is Inspiring (Ife Blount)

Happy Monday family!!

A while ago…maybe in ‘08 I did a post on a Girls Night Out event that I get invited to once a year. The event is usually women from all facets of the entertainment industry that come together to actually do more than just exchange business cards. We really do end up helping each other. It is such a good idea! I met Ife at one of the events a few years ago and was super impressed with her because she would travel all the way from Ohio just to come to a 3 hour event in New York. I remember thinking to myself “She is going to be very successful”. That is the kind of drive it takes. A no nonsense, non complaining, just do what you gotta do attitude She is a sweet person who is working her way up the entertainment industry’s ladder and I just knew I wanted to feature her story on she-blogs.
Thanks again Ife!

xoxo
Ally

ifelicious.com

She-blogs: Who is Ife B. (aka “Ifelicious”)?
Ife: dreamer, doer, intelligent, opinionated, driven, creative

She-blogs: What inspired you to start your blog ifelicious.com?
Ife: After I started my other main blog affrodite.net, I was looking for a catch all type of blog to capture my eclectic day to day interests like indie film, MTV reality tv shows, music, shopping, fashion, women’s lib, and more. That’s when I started ifelicious.com. It was all about no rules or boundaries, just pure writing pleasure. At the time, those “Stuff People Like” lists were really popular and one of my first projects was to capture links to as many of them as possible in a single post.

She-blogs: Did you write when you were younger and did you go to school for it?
Ife: Yes, I recall vividly going to the Card-O-Rama in the Columbia Mall to pick out my very first diary with my grandma after telling her that I wanted something to jot down my thoughts. I was about 7 years old at the time and always kept a personal journal thereafter. My first inkling that I had a talent for writing came in the second grade when my short story “The Sad Dragon” was published in Ebony, Jr. Generally speaking, I was good at English but stronger at math and science, however, I always did well when it came to creative writing. When college came around, I chose to study engineering both as an undergraduate and graduate student. It’s funny to me because engineers typically hate writing, and here I am.

She-blogs: What are some of your favorite magazines or sites and why?
Ife: I subscribed to Vibe since its inception and am sad to see it go out of print. As an urban music and pop culture junkie, this was a great read. I also like reading Essence magazine. It’s a great magazine that speaks to women of color. Online I often check out websites like TheRoot.com, GlobalGrind.com, MTV.com, BlackVoices.com, and EURWeb.com just to name a few. I’ve found that these websites are consistently a good source of information whether it’s just a great read or inspiration for a blog post.

She-blogs: What is your average day like?
Ife: I wake up around 7am and start surfing the net for what’s going on in the world and looking for inspiration. I also keep a running list of topics/ideas to write about or research and will re-prioritize them daily based on my other commitments. I’m constantly on Twitter and Facebook getting a feel for what people are talking about and how they’re reacting to things I’ve written. The rest of the day is focused on writing articles and/or blog posts, conducting interviews, and follow up on any stories that I’d like to cover. I usually break during the mid-afternoon and resume working again later in the evening when things quiet back down.

She-blogs: What projects are you working on right now?
Ife: For ifelicious.com I have an interview with rapper, actor, radio personality MC Lyte and one with actor, writer, film producer Kris Black recorded that I need to transcribe and convert into posts. Outside of ifelicious.com, ongoing projects for me in general include contributing wiki entries about green travel as an ambassador for the cities of New York, NY and Columbus, OH for Earth.org; maintaining my women’s issues column on Examiner.com; and creating content for affrodite.net.

She-blogs: Tell me about one of the biggest career obstacles you have faced and how you worked through it?
Ife: Taking the leap of faith in January 2009 to leave the temple of my technical familiar career to follow my passion for writing full time has been challenging on many levels. It’s a financial hit to leave a salaried life, but I prepared ahead of time and accumulated a savings. I am also blessed with a supportive husband who’s also there for me in every way. To keep the well from running dry, I have been promoting myself to anyone who will listen to me online or otherwise trying to land paid and ideally ongoing freelance work. Navigating the entertainment industry is also difficult. Kathy Griffin is near and dear to my heart as she speaks of life on the D-List and I’m not even close to her level yet. I’ve had a few publicists take me under their wing that have been great resources for me. I, in turn, work very hard to promote their clients and make myself available on a moments notice to do press for events just about anywhere I can get a flight.

She-blogs: What advice would you give to a woman who is reaching for her dreams? Do you suggest internships or finding a mentor?
Ife: Reach for your own dreams and not expectations. I feel like I followed my head and not my heart through so much of my life. At the same time, making the decision to follow my passion is both the bravest and most rewarding experience of my life so far, and I only wish more women would do the same. Mentoring relationships are critical because none of us can do what we do alone. Find someone who gets what you’re about and who you aspire to be. Your mentor’s aspirations do not always have to coincide with your own, but the more they do, the more help they will be to you. Also, remember mentoring works best when there’s reciprocity. Share what you’ve learned as well. Practical work experience is a requirement in today’s world. Get an internship, paid or unpaid, as soon as you can. It’s a great low risk way to explore and refine your interests.

She-blogs: Why do you think it is important for women to stick together and genuinely help one another?
Ife: Let’s face it, we still live in a world where men still have much of the power when it comes to salary, defining status quo, and moving into positions of leadership. Think about it, as women we are still achieving firsts in some walks of life. Add women of color into the equation and there’s so much uncharted territory to claim. There is strength in numbers, and the more we mutually support each other, the more successful we all will be in the long term.

She-blogs: Where do you see yourself in five years?
Ife: A respected writer freelancing for several large publications while growing my main blogs ifelicious.com and affrodite.net into an enterprise and brand. A small staff capitalizing on the strengths of a chosen few that help me write, market, and run my business. A book deal in place and I spend my “free” time working on that project. Not publicly famous but well respected and in demand amongst those in the entertainment industry.

She-blogs: Name one place that you have never been that you want to travel to and why?
Ife: Sri Lanka. A dear friend and inspiration of mine Alia Whitney-Johnson runs Emerge Global (www.emergeglobal.org), a non-profit that helps empower young girls in Sri Lanka who have been displaced from their homes as the result of sexual abuse and incest through jewelry making. It’s a fantastic cause that I trust and support on my blogs through an online donation button as well as from my own pockets. I hope to visit the young girls (some carrying young children as the result of their traumatic experiences), in Sri Lanka some day soon and do some volunteer work. We’ve been talking about it more seriously in the past few months, and I hope to get out there within the next year.

She-blogs: When was the last time you laughed so hard you couldn’t breathe?
Ife: It’s embarrassing to think about this question because I wish it were more recently, but my honest answer is maybe 3 months ago while attending a Shadowbox Cabaret (sketch comedy and rock and roll club) show.

She-blogs: What do you do to stay balanced?
Ife: Pray, journal, travel, help others, remember to say thank you, enjoy time with my husband and loved ones.

She-blogs: What do you like the most about the way you look?
Ife: My hair. Going natural was one of the most liberating moments of my life.

She-blogs: What do you like to do for fun?
Ife: I play a lot of soccer. Other than that shop, dance, listen to music, go to dinner with my husband and/or with friends.

Tags: Blogger, Ife Blount, Journalist

This entry was posted on Monday, August 10th, 2009 at 2:12 pm and is filed under Interviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.