Everybody wants to tell you about scaling and Series A. Nobody sits down and says, "Here's what it actually costs to get one person helping you when you have almost nothing."

So that's what this one is. Between the two of us, we've done it every way there is — freelancers, contractors, offshore, W-2, fractional, all of it. Some of it worked. Some of it cost us money we didn't have.

We're giving you real numbers. Real mistakes. The rules we follow now because we learned them the hard way.

Sheena tells the story about the freelancer who had one of HER OWN apps sitting in their portfolio. That one still gets us.

We also got into whether your first hire can just be an AI agent in 2026, and we don't fully agree on it. Let us know where you land.

If you're building with a small budget right now, this one's for you.

WHAT WE GET INTO
▸ Where we actually find freelancers, and which sites we prefer
▸ Offshoring vs outsourcing — people use these wrong all the time
▸ The 3 AM problem nobody warns you about with offshore work
▸ Why we don't fully trust 5-star ratings anymore
▸ How to vet a portfolio (including reaching out to their past clients cold)
▸ The freelancer who had Sheena's own app in their portfolio
▸ Milestones, escrow, and the upfront payment rule that saves people thousands
▸ Real numbers: what engineers and designers cost right now, here and offshore
▸ Why 2021 was the wildest hiring year either of us has seen
▸ When fractional work makes sense — and when it doesn't
▸ How much runway you need before you make a real hire
▸ What a W-2 employee actually costs (it's not the salary)
▸ Can your first hire be an AI agent? We go back and forth on this one
▸ Why the moat isn't tech anymore
▸ Our richest lessons: fire fast, and the order you hire in matters

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RICH LESSONS PODCAST
Hosted by Sevetri Wilson Taylor and Sheena Allen

LISTEN & SUBSCRIBE

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rich-lessons/id1787798124

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/40jGSUvVrMbxKcJ1ghE8kl

WATCH & SUBSCRIBE ON YOUTUBE

https://www.youtube.com/@richlessonspodcast

FOLLOW RICH LESSONS

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/richlessonspodcast

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#RichLessons #HiringOnABudget #Freelancers #Upwork #Offshoring #StartupAdvice #Entrepreneurship #SmallBusiness #Bootstrapping #FounderMindset #WomenInBusiness #BusinessPodcast #FractionalWork

Dr. Alicia Reed is a pharmacist. She spent 20 years telling other people how to take care of their health. Then her husband died of a massive heart attack at 43, four days before Christmas — and she became a widow overnight at 40, with a four-year-old.Then the pandemic hit. She was on the frontline as a healthcare provider while her own blood pressure was dangerously out of control.It took her son asking "Mommy, are you going to die too?" for her to actually stop.We talked about all of it. Grief, burnout, food, the health stuff nobody's checking on, and the generational curse that says strong women don't get to rest. She also learned how to swim at 46 — in six days — and that story alone is worth the watch.If you're the person everybody depends on, this one is for you.WHAT WE GET INTO▸ Who NOLA Bougie was, and how she became Dr. Reed▸ Losing her husband four days before Christmas▸ Grieving in public while raising a grieving four-year-old▸ Why rest got turned into something you have to earn▸ How burnout actually shows up — inflammation, autoimmune flares, blood pressure▸ "Who takes care of the person everyone else depends on?"▸ Why she says it's women, not men, skipping the doctor▸ Two stories about what happens when you wait too long to get checked▸ Food as medicine: reading labels, the ginger ale that shocked us, and what to actually look for▸ Eating well when you live in a food desert▸ The health insurance benefits you're paying for and never using▸ The health trend that worries her most right now▸ Learning to swim at 46 after being thrown in as a child▸ Rapid fire: time vs energy, boundaries vs discipline, and which is harder — success or healingFOLLOW DR. ALICIA REED - https://www.instagram.com/DrAlishaReed/Your Self-Care Prescription LLCFly Widow Podcasthttps://open.spotify.com/show/536vGTR2zWrh17VcUtX5JIRICH LESSONS PODCASTHosted by Sevetri Wilson Taylor and Sheena Allen🎧 LISTEN & SUBSCRIBEApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rich-lessons/id1787798124Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/40jGSUvVrMbxKcJ1ghE8kl▶️ WATCH & SUBSCRIBE ON YOUTUBEhttps://www.youtube.com/@RichLessonsPodcast📲 FOLLOW RICH LESSONSInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/richlessonspodcastTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@richlessonspodcast━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━#RichLessons #BlackWomensHealth #HeartHealth #SelfCare #Burnout #BlackWomenPodcast #Grief #Widowhood #FoodIsMedicine #WomensHealth #Pharmacist #HighBloodPressure #BlackWomenInBusiness #Wellness #PreventativeHealth

Dolly Parton is gone, Gary, Indiana has been without power for weeks, and New York City is trying to fight rising grocery prices with city-run supermarkets. Meanwhile, a controversial surrogacy case has turned into a legal and cultural battle over parental rights, abortion, and who gets to make medical decisions for a child.

Sheena Allen and Sevetri Wilson Taylor break down the biggest stories in business, culture, politics, and society—from Dolly Parton’s complicated legacy and the power grid crisis to the fight over NYC’s grocery stores and the viral surrogate custody case making headlines.

In this episode:
• Dolly Parton’s death, philanthropy, and her legendary responses to Whitney Houston and Beyoncé covering her music
• Why Gary, Indiana went weeks without power—and why so few people were talking about it
• Memphis’ massive power outage and questions about America’s aging power grid
• New York City’s plan for city-run grocery stores with lower prices
• Why bodega owners are fighting the plan
• The bizarre and controversial surrogacy case involving a seriously ill baby
• The growing debate over surrogacy, parental rights, and reproductive politics

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Subscribe to Rich Takes on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and leave us a review if you enjoyed the episode.

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rich-lessons/id1787798124

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/40jGSUvVrMbxKcJ1ghE8kl?si=9666ca84559c4e16

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@richlessonspodcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/richlessonspodcast/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@richlessonspodcast