“I got it.” Those three words echo in women’s minds — often articulated — and equally to their own detriment. Indeed, is it time to shed the “I got it” syndrome? That’s the thinking behind entrepreneur Elayne Fluker’s SiS Academy. Also the host of the Support is Sexy podcast, Elayne sees big opportunities ahead for entrepreneurs like her, especially if they are open to (rightfully) asking for help from their network.
Grit Daily: You had your own adventures before SiS Academy. Share those.
Elayne Fluker: The adventure before SiS Academy was actually my podcast Support is Sexy, that’s where the name comes from. I was meeting and interviewing so many amazing women and the work came with so many incredible opportunities.
For example, in 2018 I worked with Remote Year and spent an entire year traveling the world, interviewing even more amazing women, and hearing their stories. There was Yvette Gayle in South Africa, Meryanne Loum Martin in Morocco, Kate Redding in Spain, Kremena Yordanova in Bulgaria. Each story touched my heart and I didn’t know it at the time but it was the beginning of a huge chapter in my life.
Prior to launching my own podcast, I enjoyed 20+ years as an executive editor, writer, and content creator in media for outlets such as People, Essence, HuffPost, Latina and Martha Stewart Living, and I appeared as a guest on the Today Show, Nightline, Extra, CNN, HLN, VH1, BET, and more.
Grit Daily: What’s behind the SiS Academy name?
EF: SiS has two meanings. First, it’s an acronym of Support is Sexy. And “sis” is also a term of endearment amongst Black women. It’s a very welcoming word that insinuates sisterhood.
Grit Daily: What problem are you trying to solve?
EF: I’d like to address the disparity in revenues in this country. Black women are the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs but as a whole we are without many investment opportunities and so that creates a gap between what we earn and what our colleagues can earn. By supporting these women and getting their names out there I can hopefully encourage future female entrepreneurs to keep going because there is space for them. If we can do it, they can do it, too.
Receiving the American Express “100 for 100” grant for innovative Black women founders was an important step toward achieving this goal. Not only did I and the other funders receive $25,000 in funding for our businesses, but we also received access to resources and training that will help us continue to grow.
Grit Daily: For the uninitiated, what is Get Over ‘I Got It’?
EF: “I Got It” Syndrome, as I call it, is something that unapologetic women, like myself and my colleagues, sometimes adopt. It’s a way of proving to themselves and to others that we can do it all by ourselves. However, that’s not sustainable. We are meant to support and be supported. Because doing it all on our own often means we are sacrificing our peace of mind. And we all deserve our peace of mind no matter how busy we get or how many plans we have. Reminding women of this is why I wrote my book, Get Over “I Got It.”
Grit Daily: What kind of initiatives is SiS Academy taking on?
EF: Because of our mission and our platform we are able to honor women all day every day. For Women’s Month, however, we honored a few of our podcast guests on our Instagram @supportissexy. We had different sections like The Originators, who were the first ten guests featured, The Innovators, who were women in tech, inventors, and also anyone who had cool ideas, and more. It was really fun to make and the women who were featured reached out to tell us they appreciated the recognition.
Another important part of the SiS Academy mission is to encourage Black girls to consider entrepreneurship. We provide them with insight and resources that will make their journey that much easier by way of support.
Grit Daily: What is one conventional wisdom about online video courses that is just plain wrong?
EF: Sometimes we think more is better. For example, we think we need longer videos and more content to fill those videos up with. But we need to think of what our audience needs from us. We just need to solve the one thing they’re searching for. When creating online video courses, we can think of where our audience is in their process, focus on a particular topic, and answer a question. We sometimes think we need to offer all the information at once, but we just need to tell them what they need at that time.
