‘That’s your business’: Tabitha and Choyce Brown on using influence and earnings wisely

In the fourth part of their "fireside chat" with DeVon Franklin, mother-daughter influencers Tabitha and Choyce discuss handling platforms and finances responsibly.

We live in an era where social media often seems to have as much, if not more, influence on young people than their parents do. So how do mother-daughter influencers Tabitha and Choyce Brown, both of whom have built brands on social media, handle themselves in those treacherous internet streets — and do they offer each other critiques?

“[A]s long as we respect each other, anything goes,” Tabitha says during the fourth part of the duo’s “fireside chat” with DeVon Franklin. “As long as there’s respect, Honey, your life is your life — and that’s your business,” she adds, throwing in her now-famous catchphrase.

Franklin’s new Audible release, It Takes a Woman, reflects on the indispensable guidance the author and motivational speaker received from the matriarchs in his life.

Similarly, while Tabitha doesn’t police Choyce’s self-expression on social media, she has taken an active role in ensuring that her daughter is financially literate. It’s an education both she and Franklin acknowledge as broadly lacking in many African American upbringings and a cycle Tabitha is determined to break for her children. She does advise Choyce on spending, saving and investing, now that the soon-to-be 21-year-old has a substantial income of her own.

“I want her to be of that mindset of using the money that you have and making it work for you,” says Tabitha.

As we know, young people aren’t always receptive to the advice of elders, but Choyce says she’s grateful for the guidance from her mother.

“I welcome and appreciate it, use it, all of it,” she says. “I need it, because they don’t teach you stuff like this at school.”

Watch the full chat between Tabitha and Choyce Brown as well as DeVon Franklin in the video at the top of this story, produced in partnership with Audible, where you can listen to It Takes a Woman.


Maiysha Kai is theGrio’s lifestyle editor, covering all things Black and beautiful. Her work is informed by two decades’ experience in fashion and entertainment, great books and aesthetics, and the brilliance of Black culture. She is also the editor-author of Body (Words of Change series).


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