Last Week Today: The End is Near

5/16/2024 🚀

Welcome to my Substack where I share the best of my week. Think of this as a catch-up between friends with life hacks & advice sprinkled in. Grab your beverage of choice and let's get started ☕️

Highlight of the Week 💡

3 more weeks of school? How is that possible?! On Friday we had our MBA prom night and I’m feeling nostalgic already even though it was just a few days ago. I’m trying to live in the moment and be present with my classmates for the remaining weeks, but I can already feel the post-school anxiety (read: dread) building up inside me. There’s a lot of change coming soon: change of location, change of occupation, change of people, change of my day-to-day responsibilities. Change makes me nervous, even if it’s the good kind. Whatever happens, don’t worry, you're coming with me on this next part of the journey.

Trust me, prom night at 28 years old is better than prom night at 18 years old.

What You’re Doing Wrong with Coffee Chats ☕

No matter what industry you’re in, you’ve probably had to do a networking-style coffee chat. Early in my career, I remember that these conversations were nerve-racking because it was hard to know if I was doing it right (am I asking the right questions? Is it flowing? How do I sound?) 😅

One piece of advice I wish I knew sooner is to let the person you’re asking to coffee set the time frame. Oftentimes, we instinctively reach out asking for “15 minutes of someone’s time” to try to respect the other person's time and increase the odds they get back to us. Fair, but could this be holding you back?

⏰ You can trust that the person you’re asking to coffee can set aside however much time they have for you. If the conversation goes for 1 hour, that’s great. If they only have 15 minutes, that’s also fine. Be respectful, come prepared, but don’t put artificial limits on the conversation. You might be unintentionally putting constraints on yourself and the conversation. Instead of asking for “15 minutes,” ask for “time to chat”. This simple change may open up more opportunities.

New YouTube Format

Hellooooo clips! Most of my podcast interviews are over and hour long — some would say TOO long. To help you get the information that you care about most in my podcast, my team and I started highlight the snippets that are most helpful. This way, you can get a quick bite of the takeaway without having to watch the entire video. Of course, if the clip piques your interest, you can also watch the entire video, still available on YouTube.

Check out this clip with Vishal below:

💅🏻 In Case You Missed It: What I posted on IG 

💥Pitching my single friends

📚 My last school picture day

🎓 How I’m feeling about graduation

👯 A girl’s guide to buying a car

🎙️BTS of my TED talk!

🛍️ Prom at 28 is more fun than at 18

✈️ Breaking down private equity

What I’m Reading 📚👀 

This week, I wanted to switch it up and tell you more about what I’m reading and consuming, alongside all of the usual career and lifestyle content you’ve been getting.

📈How much influencers charge for sponsored posts, Gen Z views on AI influencers, and other key takeaways from new influencer-marketing data

How much influence do influencers actually have? According to this report, 89% of respondents said their purchasing decisions were influenced by a creator in the past year. Brands need to build trust with their consumers through influencers.

BTW, Sprout does lots of really great reporting in this space, including on influencer pay and trends in the industry. If you work in the creator economy, they are definitely a must-follow.

🌸 Moving beyond tokenism this AAPI Heritage Month

This is a topic I’ve been thinking a lot about this AAPI Heritage Month. We’ve all seen ad campaigns that really miss the mark and others that are genuine and thoughtful. Brands should be thinking about where they can authentically add their voice – not just put up a post or do a partnership because they feel like they have to. And, we have to keep up the drumbeat and uplift AAPI creators and businesses not just this month, but every month.

💻​​ AI may not replace you, but someone who uses it can — here’s the No.1 skill you need to stay relevant

There’s a lot of distrust around AI. Employees are worried about being replaced and managers are worried that their employees are using AI behind their backs. But during this time of uncertainty, the best thing we can do is learn and keep up with technology. Tip: If you’re not already, start using tools like chatGPT and get good at prompt engineering. Experiment with different prompts to see what works and what doesn’t work.

❌How A Potential TikTok Ban Will Impact Creators And Brands

The looming TikTok ban… If ByteDance doesn't sell the app within 9 months, TikTok will be banned in the US. This would result in a drastic shift in the creator economy and accounts of all sizes are starting to prepare. From company brands to individual accounts, creators need to ensure they’re diversifying across platforms. For lots of folks, it’s a primary source of income and where they have built a community over multiple years. Diversify if you haven’t already!

Meme Tax

I hope you have the best week, my friends!

XO, Cherie